The Girl Next Door
by Absolutely Unsure
Summary: Kaoru and Yahiko have moved into a new, much smaller, town then their last one. But what Kaoru doesn't know, is that her only neighbor next to her new dojohome is a handsome red head with shining amethyst eyes who shares a few of her own hobbies... KK
1. Start the Commotion

_**A/N:** Well, this annoying plot bunny has been running (or hopping?) around in my head for quite some time after reading a few RK fanfic chapter-stories that were just light and fluffy and OH so adorable. So I thought, why don't I give it a shot? So here it is, and I hope you enjoy it. Lets see if this cute little bunny will survive or if it'll be shot down horribly! Hahaha...ha...heh...ahem. And no, I'm not a sadist, no matter what my brother says._

_I don't own RK, and I'm pretty sure that even Soccer!Kenshin has been used more times then I can count. Eh, creativity is overrated XD_

* * *

**Chapter 1 : Start the Commotion**

* * *

"This is _so_ _stupid._ Why do we have to move?!" Yahiko grumbled for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Kaoru sighed while driving and stole a glance his way, forehead leaned against the glass window and arms crossed angrily as the younger teenager watched the landscape fly by.

"Ever since the…" She drifted off, swallowing the lump in her throat, "_incident_, we couldn't afford our old house and the school tuition, even if we were both working jobs. And grandpa left this for us in his will when he died." She explained again, trying to get the information through the thick boy's head.

"Whatever." He dismissed it, not wanting to talk about it even though he was the one who brought it up.

There was silence for a few minutes before the car was pelted with heavy rain, surprising Kaoru. But it was soon replaced with relief when she saw a sign pointing to an old road not far off, which she took and not far after another sign popped up, this one reading '_Welcome to Meiji, Home of the Scoring Samurai, Population: 1,258_' Her eyes widened at the population, not knowing that the town was _this_ small.

She felt herself jerk around as they started to hit numerous pot-holes from the old paved road that lead into the town and away from the never-ending highway.

"Wow, you sure know how to pick um." Yahiko joked as he tried to steady himself in their jumpy jeep, his forehead slightly soar as it'd been jammed against the window a few seconds ago with the first lurch.

Kaoru growled at him through grit teeth, looking at the address to their new home.

It didn't take them long to find the enormous old house perched on a hill, the only neighbor was an equally large house next to them, which, Kaoru dully noted, had their lights on.

"Wow, it's even bigger then our old house." Yahiko breathed as he looked at the structure.

"It's suppose to be an old dojo. And no one's lived in it for five years." She shivered, just thinking about the horrible spiders and cockroaches that crawled in there.

"Well, come on Ugly, let's go." Yahiko laughed as he bounded out of the car, trying to avoid the pouring rain, but got drenched non the less in the short time it took to get to the old door frame.

"Reckless as ever." Kaoru muttered as she fished out an umbrella from the pile of stuff in their car. She congratulated herself for putting the waterproof cover over the jeep or else everything would have gotten soaked and ruined all their few, but precious, belongings.

She ran out into the rain, getting the bottom of her jeans wet. Yahiko waited eagerly for her to open the massive wooden doors, water slightly drooping his spiky hair.

She pulled out the old clunky key and jammed it in, the door opening with a loud and creepy creak. Yahiko bolted in, not even thinking twice, as Kaoru tried to get him back.

"A little dusty." She coughed as she tried to remove a covering to a chair, making a large cloud of dust erupt all around her.

"Wow! Come look at _this_ Kaoru!" Yahiko exclaimed not far off, his voice echoing throughout the house. Kaoru quickly followed his voice and found him in the dojo part, all kinds of swords and other weapons hanging from the walls.

"We can practice here, it'll be even better then before." He continued to gush as he looked around at the huge wooden room.

Kaoru swallowed the lump in her throat that reappeared again, thinking things she'd told herself to try and forget about.

"Come on Yahiko, let's at least try and find somewhere to sleep."

* * *

A red head groggily got out of bed the next morning, birds singing sweetly outside his large window. Usually this would make a person smile, but it did nothing like that to him. He actually wanted to do the opposite to the cute creatures for waking him up early on one of the few days he was allowed to sleep in.

"Get up, Baka!" he heard his father call from downstairs, his voice booming over everything.

He just groaned in recognition before falling out of bed, grumbling when he rose, rubbing his now soar tailbone.

He walked down the stairs, still in a daze, making him almost fall down them twice.

"You're friend's here, Baka." The tall and muscular man explained as he sat at their breakfast table, absently sipping his black coffee.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks _Old Man_."

"It's _HIKO-SAMA_ to you." He grumbled in irritation.

"And it's _KENSHIN_, not B_aka_." The now identified Kenshin spat back, continuing his march to the enormous front doors.

He heard the far off grumbling of Hiko before opening the wooden doors with a grunt.

"Yo, Kenshin, my _man_!" exclaimed his friend as he strode into the house, immediately going into the kitchen as Kenshin followed.

"Sano, what're you doing here?" Kenshin grumbled as he poured himself a tall glass of skim milk.

"What, I can't visit my best friend on a Saturday morning?" Sano joked as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"More like just to mooch off of our food supply." Hiko stated as he stood up and left, leaving the two teenagers in the kitchen alone.

"So, anything new?" Kenshin asked as he sat down, his bagel already in the toaster.

"No, but I think there's something new for you." Sano said, pouring milk in his bowl of cereal and then coming to sit next to Kenshin.

"What do you mean?" Kenshin said, covering his mouth as a yawn escaped his mouth.

"I mean, I saw a car in front of your creepy neighbor's house. Is someone living there now?" Sano questioned, noisily chewing as he talked.

Kenshin raised a red eyebrow at him in confusion before getting up and walking towards the opposite side of the house, his now toasted bagel forgotten. His amethyst eyes widened when he saw the old jeep parked outside his only neighboring house.

He walked back into the kitchen, finding Sano had put cream cheese on his bagel and was eating it.

"Hiko was right, you _do_ eat all our food." He said with amusement as he put another bagel in the toaster.

"Yet you're still my friend." He commented as he leaned back in his chair.

Kenshin snorted before sitting down again, thinking.

"I wonder whose moved in." he muttered out loud, a thoughtful expression on his young face.

"We can only hope that it's a hot girl." Sano stated matter-of-factly.

"Highly doubt it, it's probably some freaky old _cat lady_." They both shivered as an old and bad memory came into their minds.

"So you mean you didn't see or hear them yesterday?" Sano questioned

"We had school yesterday so I went to bed pretty early Sano, they must have come in late and while it was raining."

There was silence for a few minutes before Sano broke it "So do you wanna practice today?"

"Don't you think it's enough that we practice more then two hours a day, five days a week, for school?" Kenshin droned as he got up to get his now toasted-to-perfection bagel, slapping cream cheese on it like Sano.

"Or would you rather help the _old lady_ with her hundreds of cats?"

"I'll be ready after I finish breakfast." Kenshin said quickly.

"That's what I though you said." Sano laughed.

* * *

"Kaoru, can we take a break already?" Yahiko whined as he helped Kaoru clean the house.

"The quicker this is done with, the quicker this house will be live-able." Kaoru stated as she furiously wiped dust away from an old dresser, revealing the shining cherry wood beneath.

Yahiko sighed, but continued sweeping the dust from the floorboards, throwing it out the front doors. As he made his way towards them, he heard an engine rev and came out just in time to see a huge red truck turn to drive down their shared driveway. He cocked an eyebrow in confusion, turning his head to the house adjacent to them that was in much better condition then theirs.

"Yahiko, come here, I need your help moving something."

* * *

"I feel like my hands are going to fall off Kaoru, and its all your fault. I won't be able to hold a bokken for _days_."

"The good thing is, the house is now spotlessly clean and we won't choke from dust if I put my hand down on something, and that, my _dear boy_, is _totally_ worth your pain." She laughed.

Yahiko smiled because of her own happiness, something that he didn't see too much of now a days "Whatever, Busu, but it did take the _entire day_." He mumbled

"Yeah…too bad indeed." She sighed, now feeling the pain in her own hands.

"And what're we gonna eat anyway, we've already had ramen for lunch, and we ate everything else for breakfast today and dinner last night."

"I'm not hungry, so I'm gonna sleep. You can go to the other house and ask for food." She paused as a yawn escaped her mouth "I bet they'll give you something if you can look cute enough."

And with that said, she started marching down the hallway and up the stairs, noting briefly that she needed to polish and wax the wooden floors later. She quickly came to her chosen room, silently opening the sliding paper doors.

It was simple, a futon in one corner with her briefcases that held her possessions and an unlit candle since they didn't have electricity throughout the entire house.

She also noted that she needed to get some air fresheners when she smelled the stuffy air inside the small room. She strode over to the candle and lit it with a match, soft light illuminating the room calmly. She then went over to the large windows and opened them, feeling relieved when she felt the soft breeze on her flushed face.

She felt the sticky feeling of sweat on her back and immediately felt the urge to strip off her t-shirt, which was exactly what she did.

* * *

Kenshin sighed as he trudged the stairs up to his room, legs tired and feet worn beyond belief.

'_Now I remember why I don't practice with Sano one-on-one, his training is brutal and he forgets the shoulder to shoulder rule…'_ He thought to himself as he threw open his bedroom door and waltzed in, throwing his bag to the a side of his annoyingly spotlessly-clean room.

He struggled off his sweaty t-shirt and opened his large double glass windows, yearning to feel the evening winds that he knew went by his house. He closed his eyes in the calming presence and leaned out slightly.

Cracking his eyes open and glanced at the darkening world outside, his eyes quickly fell on the dimly lit room perfectly adjacent to his. He looked at in curiously before the old windows were thrown open, revealing a person.

Kenshin squinted and leaned out his window more as he tried to identify the person, but even with his keen eyes, he couldn't totally make out the person in the thick darkness and faint light.

He saw the person move and was surprised when he saw them try to wrestle their shirt off.

He nearly fell out of his window when he…_observed_…it was a girl from the obvious curves that he saw. He gasped when he saw the now identified female continue to take off her jeans, revealing thin legs. His nails dug into the wood and he bit his lip when he saw her reach for her back, trying to get her bra strap off.

A loud ringing sound woke him from his watching and he jerked back, falling on his ass for the second time that day. He grumbled to himself before remembering the beauty next door and scrambling up, looking hungrily back out his window to find that the room was now empty.

He cursed him self and wondered if it was all a dream when he was rudely interrupted by that damned bell a second time.

"Coming, coming." He grumbled to himself as he stomped down the stairs and jerked the doors open, a slight scowl on his face.

He starred down at the fairly short, spiky haired kid that stood before him.

"Hiya." Yahiko piped with an amused smile "Do you meet everyone without a shirt on? It must just _drag_ in the ladies." He continued with a roll of his eyes.

Kenshin's eyes widened when he did realize that he was shirtless.

"Just a second." He stammered as he sprinted up the stairs and into his room, throwing on the closest t-shirt that he could find.

He ran down again to find that the doors were still open but the young boy wasn't there anymore. He panicked for a few seconds before he heard a few sounds coming from the kitchen. He quickly closed the double doors and followed the boy, curious as to who he was.

"What're you doing?" Kenshin questioned with arms crossed as he watched Yahiko try to raid his fridge.

"Oh, sorry." Yahiko apologized while closing it and walking over to him, holding his hand out to shake. "I'm Myojin Yahiko, descendent from Tokyo Samurai!" he stated proudly, deep brown eyes gleaming in pride and admiration.

Kenshin smiled at him before shaking his hand "Himura Kenshin."

"Nice to meet ya Kenshin. Can I have some food?" He asked bluntly.

Kenshin blinked at him in confusion "You don't have food?"

"Well, we just moved in next door." He jerked a thumb in the direction of his new dojo-home "and we haven't really gone shopping yet."

"Sure, help yourself." Kenshin muttered in a trance, realizing that there really were people there now. His eyes widened as he heard Yahiko's words again, or the one word 'we.'

He looked up from his daze to see Yahiko, arms now full of food, walk past him and towards the doors. Kenshin quickly went over and opened one for him.

"See ya Kenshin." Yahiko stated with a wide grin before walking the short distance back to his house.

"Wait! Who else is living with you!" but his question was unheard.

He shook his head, causing red locks of hair to fall in his handsome face.

"Who was that?" Hiko grumbled as he came down the stairs in a sleeping kimono.

"I just meet one of our new neighbors." Kenshin replied airily as he followed Hiko into the kitchen.

"My God!" Hiko exclaimed as he opened the fridge "Where the _hell_ did all our food go?! Don't tell me it was that damn Sano kid again." He said in a loud voice, ignoring the new information.

"No, it wasn't him. A kid from next door came and raided us, but he did look like a mini Sano." Kenshin thought out loud, remembering the same spiked up hair and brown eyes that held trouble and spunk.

"I wonder if there's a hot single mom to accompany that boy…" Hiko said dreamily, drool threatening to come out his mouth.

Kenshin snorted but felt a blush coming onto his cheeks, wondering if that person from before really _was_ Yahiko's mother, which made him slightly cringe on the inside.

"I'm going to bed." Kenshin announced, leaving his dreaming father behind in the kitchen.

"Hey! Baka! Whose going to cook me dinner?!" Hiko demanded as Kenshin started to walk up the stairs.

"Make it yourself." He yelled back, sprinted up the rest of the stairs before Hiko could yell anything else back.

Arriving in his room, he hesitantly looked out his window and found that now not only the person was gone, but the dim light as well.

He sighed before taking a quick shower and brushing his teeth, relieved when he flopped down on his bed in how sleep quickly took him.

Too bad his dreams were all about old ladies who suddenly turned hot and their deadly cats.

* * *

_**A/N:** As always, PLEASE REVIEW! It really makes my day! Till next time, Kitsune out!_


	2. If You're There, Beware

_**A/N: **Thanks for your awesome reviews which helped this chapter come out so soon! Here's chapter two!_

_And no, I don't own RK, so you can stop rubbing it in (goes into dark corner and dies)_

* * *

**Chapter 2 : If You're There, Beware**

* * *

_Sunday…_

Kaoru groaned the next morning as she rolled over on her futon, grasping the warm comforter and pulling it over her face in a feudal attempt to block the sunlight streaming in from her wide-open windows.

"Kaoru, _wake up_! Its already nine thirty and I'm bored!" Yahiko yelled from down stairs, annoyance laced in his every word.

Kaoru grumbled something about teenage boy's attention spans before getting up and changing into some old jeans and a tight t-shirt.

She stomped down the stairs, forgetting about the last step and falling forward, all of which Yahiko saw and laughed while Kaoru tried to chase and pummel him to the ground, even if it was hard wood.

After they'd calmed down, they went into the kitchen and Kaoru started testing the appliances.

"So what're we doing today?" Yahiko asked as he sat down on one of the five chairs that surrounded their small kitchen table.

"I was thinking of cleaning some more and putting more furniture in my room, plus explore the house, see what works and what doesn't. Like this fridge is totally fried." She sighed as she tried to turn on the old, rusted fridge but to no success.

"Fine, you do that, I'm gonna go explore the _town_." Yahiko stated as he got up and went to the front door.

"Wait! How will you get around?" Kaoru questioned as she peaked her head out from the kitchen, absently watching him tie his tennis shoes.

"This place is so small I can just walk. And we're right in the middle I think, so everything should be really close."

"Alright then, see ya later _brat_." Kaoru called as she went back into the kitchen, other appliances still needed to be tested.

"Yeah, bye to you too _Busu_." Yahiko called back over his shoulder as he threw on his jacket and ran out the doors.

* * *

Not much longer, Kaoru stood in one of the many aisles of the hardware store, surprised that such a small town would have such a large store, but pleased none-the-less. She needed some major appliances, and thanks to the money from their last house, they had some money to spare.

"May I help you Miss?" a kind voice said from behind her and she snapped around, finding a happy middle aged man in front of her.

"Oh yes, I need all of these things." She said as she handed him the list of the appliances she needed.

He looked down at the list and one of his eyebrows lifted before the next "Why do you need so many things?" He questioned after he gave the list back, a look of bewilderment still on his face.

"Well, I just moved in and the house I now live in hasn't been used in five years, so all the electronical things are dead." She explained.

"Ah! I thought I didn't recognize your face." The older man understood with a smile, making Kaoru smile as well.

"Come on. We have this policy that you pick out whatever you want, pay for it, and then someone will deliver everything to you and then install, if need be, as soon as possible. But that may take some time with everything that you need." He continued to explain as they walked down the isle of stoves.

"Tell me anything that strikes your fancy."

* * *

"Kenshin, I'm bored." Sano complained as he lay sprawled on Kenshin's couch, both of them watching TV.

"Not my problem you have an ADD disorder." Kenshin snorted as he flipped the channel away from the cartoons they were just watching.

"Hey! I was watching that, and _NO_ I _don't_ have ADD." Sano huffed as he snatched the remote from Kenshin and changed it back just in time to see some animated violence that made Sano laugh.

"Could've fooled me." Kenshin muttered as he got up from his own slouched position to go to the kitchen, grabbing an apple. He looked out one of the far off windows and noticed that the jeep that occupied the driveway yesterday was gone.

"Hey Sano, I think the new neighbors are away." Kenshin called as he walked back into the living room, casually munching his apple.

"Perfect!" Sano exclaimed as she bolted up from the couch and over to Kenshin, yanking his wrist and jerking the red head with him towards the front doors, the partially eaten apple forgotten on the floor.

"Sano, what're you doing?" Kenshin exclaimed when he finally pulled his wrist away from his friend's iron like grip.

"We're gonna do some investigation of your new neighbors." Sano said maniacally as he turned forward, Kenshin noticing for the first time that they were standing in front of a pair of double doors just as big as his own, if not slightly smaller.

"No way, we could get arrested for B&E." (breaking and entering, duh) Kenshin shock his head in affirmation, arms crossed in determination.

"Come on, man, don't wuss out on me." Sano whined as he put one of his hands on a knob. "Aren't you wondering who else is now living in this house rather then that boy?"

Kenshin remembered his _'sight-seeing'_ from last night and before he knew it, his hand was on the other knob.

"That's what I'm talking about." Sano smirked as they opened the doors together.

They peaked their heads in warily, first making sure that no one was around, and then walked in. Kenshin looked around and noticed that everything still had an old Japanese style to it, almost everything made out of wood.

"Come on, let's split up." Sano said with glee, not helping Kenshin's apprehension in the bottom of his stomach.

Sano went in the direction of the kitchen while Kenshin hesitantly started up the stairs. He kept going down the semi-long hallway until an open door at the end caught his eyes. He peaked his head open and his eyes widened.

He gently stepped into the room. There were a few clothes scattered around the room, a few briefcases next to a simple futon covered in a turquoise cover, and a few boxes scattered across the room, some opened and others still closed.

He noticed a vanity that had a large mirror, a small stool next to it. He also noticed a dresser with some clothing hanging out. He walked over to it and opened the first drawer. He gasped when he saw girl panties of every color and design laid out before his eyes. He gingerly picked up a frilly pink pair and he felt his face immediately flush.

"Kenshin!" Sano huffed as he burst into the room, Kenshin still rooted to the ground in realization that what he saw yesterday really wasn't a dream.

Sano smirked as Kenshin tried to stuff the pair back in the drawers, but in his hast, it only made more pop out and when he pulled his hand back out, he realized he now had about five pairs on his hands in addition to bras that he tried to shake off.

"Come on, we gotta leave." Sano snapped, explaining to Kenshin why his face was slightly flushed. "They're back." He said with wide eyes that Kenshin's own now mirrored.

"If I get caught, I blame it on you." Kenshin stated, pointing a finger on him, which a bra hung on, making his statement now seem comical.

"Dude, come ON!" Sano ordered as he went to the wide-open windows of the room, looking down.

"Think we can jump two stories without breaking anything?" he tried to ask seriously, but came out as a lame joke.

"Not me, but with your height you can make it if you go on the edge of the roof and then hang there before dropping, but do it slowly."

"What about you?"

"You'll catch me dumbass." Kenshin growled.

Sano nodded gravely and went first, Kenshin soon followed, the underwear on his hands temporarily forgotten in their panic.

Sano successfully landed with a roll before warily lifting his head and looking through the nearest window before standing up and giving the thumbs up to Kenshin.

As Kenshin got ready, he heard steady footsteps very faintly from inside the house, coming closer and closer. He jumped hastily down, not even looking back, and Sano skillfully caught him with a gasp.

"Come on, man!" Kenshin said with wide eyes as he and Sano sprinted back to his house, adrenaline making their legs pump faster then usual.

They quickly threw open the doors, forgetting how heavy there were, and closed them with care, making sure not to slam them. With their little adventure over, they slumped onto the ground, backs pressed against the doors.

Sano glanced over to Kenshin and before either of them knew it, they started bursting into hysterical laughter, tears forming at the edges of their eyes and sides starting to hurt.

"What the hell are you idiots doing?" Hiko asked as he walked down the stairs.

Kenshin got up and cleared his throat, helping Sano up who was still laughing uncontrollably.

"Nothing, Hiko." He tried to lie.

"If it's nothing, then what're those on your hands?" Hiko asked with amusement as he pointed down at Kenshin's hands.

Kenshin looked down and blushed in embarrassment as he noticed that a bra and two panties had somehow survived their little escape. When Sano followed Hiko's pointing finger, he started a new wave of laughter as Kenshin tried to stutter a reply.

And just then, they heard a high-pitch scream from not off in anger, obviously from a woman. Kenshin gulped, hoping that his father hadn't heard it, which he acted like he didn't.

"Whatever, you horny teenage boy." Hiko said as he waved his arm in the air, as if brushing the matter away, before going over to the TV.

"That was the _shit_, Kenshin." Sano said as he slapped Kenshin across the back, nearly knocking him over, as he continued his laugher.

"Yeah, yeah, happy day." Kenshin replied through clenched teeth, picking off the underwear in annoyance.

* * *

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!" Kaoru screeched when she saw her open drawer and her underwear littered across the floor, leading to the window.

"What's wrong, Kaoru?" Yahiko said breathlessly as he ran into her room, just getting home a few minutes ago before hearing her far off scream.

"Someone just went _pantie raided_ me!" she said with a flushed face, as she glared down at Yahiko.

He looked down at the mutilated drawer to her face that was currently contorted in anger.

"I'm gonna eat dinner." Yahiko said airily as he left his sister that reminded him of a banshee right now.

* * *

_Monday…_

Kaoru pulled down her tight t-shirt in aggravation again as she looked up at the looming school in front of her. Next to her was an equally nervous Yahiko, though he did a good job at hiding it.

"C-Come on." Kaoru stuttered, but stood up straight and walked into the building with determination.

"Hello dear, what can I help you with today?" asked an older lady at her working desk.

"Uh…yes, I'm Kamiya Kaoru and this is Myojin Yahiko." Kaoru stated with a smile.

"Hm, both Japanese, are you two related?" the woman asked as she looked for their schedules and other needed information.

"Yes, Yahiko was adopted into our family but he chose to keep his last name." Kaoru explained as she ruffled Yahiko's spiky hair, making it slightly frizzy.

"Ah! Here you are. Kaoru the senior and Yahiko the freshman." She read before handing them their folders. "Please have a good time at Meiji High School!" she said with a squeal that Kaoru thought she was just a little too old to do.

She walked out of the office and closed the door, noticing the hallways were now empty. "It looks like I have history right now. What do you…?" But Kaoru drifted off when she saw Yahiko at the end of the hallway, already headed to his next class.

"Independent brat." She snorted before looking at the map and finding her room after a little trouble. She took a big breath before she knocked and opened the door.

The teacher raised an eyebrow in confusion at the intrusion of his class before Kaoru gave him a slip the older lady had told to her to give him, a slight blush on her pretty face from all the students in the room starring at her with interest.

The teacher read the paper with a stone straight face before he nodded once and turned to the class that was less then twenty.

"Everyone, we have a new student. Why don't you introduce yourself to everyone. I'm Saito Hajime."

Saito glanced at her before walking back to his desk and sitting down in his leather chair, leaving Kaoru to stand-alone and start to fiddle with her bag strap.

She bit her lip as she starred at the many (or seemed that way to her) faces that starred right back at her.

"Um…hi, I'm Kamiya Kaoru and I'm new here. I just moved in from Tokyo a few days ago and I'm a senior." She summed up in a few sentences, a friendly smile blossoming at the end of her small speech.

"Thank you Kamiya, now take a seat next to Himura. Himura, raise your hand so she knows who and where you are."

She saw a hand shot up and gasped at the handsome red head to which it belonged to. She murmured a thanks to the teacher before sitting down in her small desk and placed her bag on top, taking out a notebook.

"Hi. I'm Himura Kenshin." Kenshin introduced himself with a dazzling smile, sticking his hand out for her to shake.

Kaoru gulped as she shock his hand, "Kaoru Kamiya, but you probably already know that." She giggled in embarrassment for repeating her name again.

"No problem." He said as he withdrew his hand from hers and leaning back into his chair, trying to find a comfy position on the hard plastic.

"Now class I want you all to pay attention…"

The rest of the day went fine for Kaoru, she did notice, however, that Kenshin was in all of the three hour and a half classes that she had that day, his red mob of hair sticking out even in the crowded hallways. When the final bell rang and everyone went his or her own way, Kaoru was surprised. It was only 2:45 but school was already over?

"Are you going to go to the sports director's office to sign up for your sport?" A girl asked her from behind and Kaoru recognized her as her science partner from third period.

"Yeah. I was just gonna go do that right now." Kaoru said with a smile before waving bye and walking off down to the locker rooms to change into her soccer workout attire.

* * *

"What do you _mean_ there's _NO GIRL SOCCER TEAM_?!" Kaoru practically screamed in a high pitch that would have made any dog run for cover.

"I-I'm very sorry Miss Kamiya, but there just isn't enough players. Maybe you could go for the volleyball team?" he added, hoping she would jump on it.

Kaoru grimaced, she hated volleyball. Not only because of her lack of height, but also just because of the basis of the game.

"I play soccer. That's the ONLY sport I play." She growled through clenched teeth.

"Again, I'm sorry. But you must play a sport all year, so please get back to me at least by tomorrow." He finished as he handed her a paper that listed all the activities she could go into before turning away from her to a stack of papers that he had to go through.

She stood there, so infuriated that she couldn't speak, and tears started to prickle her eyes, but she pushed them back and started to stomp out the door, the paper crushed in her hand.

"Too bad you aren't a guy, then you could play on the boy's team…" she heard him mutter through the ruffle of papers.

With that statement, she came stopped dead in her tracks and turned back around, hope now in her eyes. She was about to ask more about it, but before she could, another older tall male came into the room.

"Are the new soccer balls in yet?" He asked smoothly with a commanding voice.

She sports administer turned his head and smiled weakly "Yes, Coach Hiko, they're at the end of the hall."

The man only nodded before turning to leave, but not before glancing down to an equally starring Kaoru.

Kaoru stood there in a daze for a few seconds before she bolted after him, leaving the sports office behind.

"Um…Coach Hiko?" She asked tensely once she'd caught up to him, lightly jogging to keep up with his long and quick strides.

He stopped and turned to her, Kaoru finally noticing how intimidating he looked with the large height difference and she noted for the first time how broad his shoulders were and how muscular he was, even though his loss t-shirt and shorts hid them well.

But she stood up straight and took a deep breath before asking "Can I please join your team?"

One of Hiko's eyebrows rose slowly in puzzlement and shock.

"Please?" Kaoru added hesitantly, desperation thick in that one word. But she kept the eye contact steadily even though she wanted to go and hide under his piercing gaze.

He continued starring down at her intensely before turning around and continuing to walk down the hall.

"Help me carry these balls to the field." He said over his shoulder, not waiting for her to catch up as he threw over one of the two bags of balls over his shouler. Kaoru sprung to life with a new bound in her steps as she hauled the other one over her shoulder, wondering if he meant that she could, indeed, join the team.

* * *

"So, _Captain_, any new info on your new neighbors?" Sano asked Kenshin, barely holding down a snicker as he and the rest of the team began stretching.

"You have new neighbors? Bummer, that house was perfect for Halloween." A different boy added as everyone laughed, memories coming back from previous haunted houses held there.

"Hopefully it's a girl." Everyone continued to laugh, but Sano shot Kenshin a look that made him blush, he still didn't know what to do with his new _possessions_.

"Hey! There's Coach!" One of the boys yelled over the laughter.

"And someone's with him." Added another as he pointed to the smaller figure.

The fifteen-man team lightly jogged over to their coach, and were surprised when they saw the girl next to him.

"Whose she?" Sano asked as he looked down at Kaoru, studying her.

"She wants to join the team." Hiko calmly stated as if he was talking about the weather, opening one of the bags and inspecting a shiny new soccer ball.

There was a few seconds of silence before laughter erupted from the high school boys.

"Shut-up!" Kaoru screamed with a flushed face, which startled the boys to silence "_So what_ if I'm a girl? At my old school, I was the _captain_ that lead my team to _nationals_." She continued to fume, fists balled at her sides.

"No way, there's n-" but Sano was interrupted when he was pelted from a ball thrown by Hiko, hitting him directly in the face and successfully shutting him up.

"It's for the Captain to decide. I've already given my consent." Hiko explained.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow, but when she saw Kenshin come through form the back, her eyes widened.

"Himura?! _You're_ the Captain?!" She said as her jaw hung open.

Kenshin ignored her and walked around her, studying her profile, which made her lightly blush. He finally added "You're a little too skinny and looks like you have barely any muscle, I'm not so sure if you could handle it."

"You're one to talk. It looks like the wind could blow you over and snap you like a twig." She shot back, earning her a few 'ohs' from the crowd of boys beside them.

His eye twitched in annoyance as she smirked at him.

"Fine, lets see what you've got."

* * *

_**A/N:** So yes, the main plot is finally coming into view! SOCCER! I've played soccer for seven years of my (so far) short life, but stopped when I went into high school cause I wasn't good enough to make varsity, and I always thought it would be a good sport to mix with RK. I know this sport story idea has been done before, but I'm trying to add a twist with Kaoru wanting to play too._

_So sorry for the babble and please remember to review!_


	3. Do It For Me Now

_**A/N:** First, thank you so much for the awesome reviews everyone, they really made my day! And sorry, but this chapter is sorta boring because it's mostly just about soccer and a filler, but hope you still enjoy the read!_

_And keep in mind that Kaoru isn't a brat or likes to show off, but is just headstrong and likes to prove herself._

_I don't own RK, so you damn lawyers can stop breathing down my neck...and I mean NOW!**  
**_

* * *

**Chapter 3 : Do It For Me Now**

* * *

"Wait, wait." Sano interrupted Kenshin and Kaoru's starring, or glaring, match making them both turn on him with their angry expressions.

"This is a BOY'S team, you're a GIRL. It can't happen, it just doesn't WORK." Sano continued, showing that he had at least enough intellect to state the obvious.

"He does have a point." Kenshin stated as he crossed his arms.

"A point that doesn't matter." Hiko started matter-of-factly before continuing, "Because of this town's population, the school is only allowed _one_ soccer team. And because of that harsh restriction, the officials have somewhat bended the rules to allow anyone in the high school to join the team if they want, that is, if they're good enough."

"Then why did that Sports Administer try to turn me away?!" Kaoru asked, her hands subconsciously strangling an invisible person in front of her, making Kenshin warily take a step away.

Hiko shrugged and went back to the balls, "Guess they didn't bother looking at the rules, cause only boys have tried out and have been on this team since I've been coaching, which has been for quite a while now."

There was silence for a few seconds, Kaoru slowly starting to calm down.

"Fine." Kenshin said as he turned back to her "Lest see if you're worth of being a _Scoring Samurai_."

At hearing the name of their team that she'd seen on the town sign, a small feeling of recognition started to well up in her._ That name sounds so familiar…_she thought to herself.

"Two laps!" Hiko barked, jolting Kaoru out of her own musings.

Kaoru watched as the boys lined up in two double lines, all behind Kenshin. When they started lightly jogging, she decided to just go the back, but after a few seconds she decided that the pace was too slow for her liking. So when they hit the first corner of the field, she cut in and dislodged herself from the boys.

Before long, she was at the front with Kenshin, his high ponytail swinging with the rhythm of his legs. And as they rounded the third corner, Kaoru cut in front of Kenshin, breaking to the absolute front of the double lines with a triumphant smirk on her face.

But on the next corner, Kenshin passing her with a small shoulder shove. Kaoru was slightly shocked as she was placed in second again, but it was quickly replaced by aggression.

She caught up to him and shoved him back hard, and unfortunately for him, they were going past Hiko who was throwing the new balls on the field, and Kenshin was thrown off enough to trip on one and fall face first into the ground.

Kaoru smirked as she gained the front again, the rest of the boys following her loyally with mostly confused and worried faces for their down captain.

But Kenshin quickly shot up and sprinted after his team and didn't stop, even when he flew past Kaoru, who went right after him.

Everyone else forgotten, the couple tried to shove the other away to get ahead. And before they knew it, they were approaching Hiko and had to stop their sprinting and shoving.

Kaoru took a step away from him and shot him a glare "What the heck is _wrong_ with you?!" she asked harshly with an accusing finger.

"_ME_?! You tried to overtake me, I'm the _Captain_. It's my _right_ to be in the front and lead everyone else and you, who isn't even officially _on_ the team, have NO right to try and go against me." He spat back, trying to stand as tall as he could, puffing out his chest in emphasis too.

"Yeah, well you didn't have to _shove_ me." Kaoru crossed her arms and stood up to her menacing five foot two inches height that was only a little shorter then Kenshin.

"You didn't have to _trip_ me!"

"Not my fault you can't keep your _balance_!"

By this time, the team had come, looking at the bickering pair with amusement, a few, including Sano, chuckling to themselves.

_I'm already glad that I allowed her to come. This'll get interesting for that idiot…_ Hiko thought with a smirk as he walked up to them and shoved them apart, both of them right in each other's faces, noses almost touching.

"Alright, _children_, lets start practice."

* * *

Kaoru panted as she flew down the field, passing the forwards with help from Sano, and tricking her defender. Now all that stood in her way was Kenshin and the keeper.

Her brows knotted together in concentration as she got ready to trick him with a fancy move that she had made herself. She only caught a glimpse of a shocked Kenshin before she shot at the goalie, successfully getting it in the top right hand corner.

"Who-Ho!" Kaoru yelled in triumph as she pumped her fists in the air.

"Alright Missy!" Sano exclaimed as he ran up to her and gave her a high-five.

"Thanks Sano!" she said with a big smile as she slapped his hand.

"What the heck _was_ that move?" Kenshin demanded as he stomped over to her.

But before Kaoru could retort back Hiko interrupted them yet again. "Bring it in team!" He yelled from the sidelines.

Kaoru shot him a dirty glare and stuck her tongue out at him childishly before turning away.

"Hey Sano, when was the last time someone stuck their tongue out at me?" he asked with amusement as he watched the back of Kaoru.

"I'd say maybe fourth grade at the most." He said with a big smile, glancing down at his friend who had a smile on himself.

When they'd all congregated around Hiko, the above little above seven foot giant looked up from his clipboard. "Good job everyone, especially Kaoru." He stated, glancing lightly at Kaoru who faintly smiled at the praise.

"Now, hit the showers." He commanded.

As everyone was walking away, Kaoru ran up to Hiko who was starting to walk back towards the gym.

"Coach?" He stopped and turned around.

"Can you please leave the balls here, I want to practice my shooting." Kaoru explained.

He nodded his head once before yelling "Leave the balls here!" to some younger boys on the team who had the un-glorifying job of hauling the equipment back and forth.

Hiko turned away and left as Kaoru turned around and struggled to drag the two sacks of balls towards the nearest goal.

"Well, looks like someone is dedicated to their game play." Sano muttered as he started to walk away from the field, him and Kenshin the last people. Kenshin glanced over to Kaoru who took out another ball to shoot, this one going in with a beautiful curve.

"Yeah…" He broke off as he ran to catch up with Sano, many different thoughts swimming in his head.

* * *

"Urgh, these balls are so cumbersome." Kaoru groaned as she heaved the gigantic sacks over her each shoulder "I didn't think one was so bad, but two's almost impossible."

She yelped as she felt herself tip to her left side before regaining balance again. When she saw that the gym wasn't far off she sighed in relief and her muscles slacked, a bad mistake. She felt herself tipping backwards and before she could regain her balance, she fell onto her butt.

"Need help?" A kind voice asked her, causing her to snap her head up to see who it was.

Kaoru snorted and swatted away Kenshin's offered hand to help her up. "I don't need it from _you_." She huffed as she stood up and dusted her shorts off.

"Look, I think that we got off on the wrong foot." He added as he grabbed one of the bags from her before she could.

"It's just that no one really challenges me, except other teams, and I just got a little shocked and overreacted. Especially since you're a girl and all." He tried to explain as she stomped ahead of him.

Kenshin sighed before walking after her. When they got into the hallway of the gym, Kenshin directed them to the soccer storage closet where they dumped the soccer balls off.

"The showers are two doors down to your left." Kenshin told her blankly as he started walking off, slightly disappointed that she hadn't accepted his partial apology yet.

"But I thought I'd use the girl's changing room." Kaoru called back, confusion obvious in her voice.

Kenshin stopped and turned around "We have our own locker room, it's much better then the others, and if you're on the team you're required to use it." He started walking away again, wanting to make sure Hiko didn't leave without him since he hadn't driven himself to school this morning.

"But I'm a _girl_, you're _guys_!" Kaoru called back in desperation.

But Kenshin only waved his hand as he exited from the building, as if not hearing her worried remark.

So she quickly got her belongings from the girl's locker room, which was now empty, and went to the one especially for the soccer team. She peaked her head in, full of trepidation, but it soon dispersed when she saw that all the boys were gone. She looked up at the clock to see what time it was and realized that she'd been out on the field longer then she thought.

She glanced around nervously as she walked in, as if a boy would pop out of no where, before she stripped down quickly and jumped in one of the showers, washing her hair in a frenzy before jumping back out and into some new clothes, all no more then five minutes.

"My first shower in days and it's rushed." She grumbled to herself as she brushed her long wet hair in a mirror.

"At least I got to play soccer and I may even get on the team." She said, all of it finally soaking in and before she knew it, she screamed in a mix of happiness and excitement, a huge smile erupting on her pretty face.

* * *

_Tuesday…_

Kaoru panted loudly as she ran up to Hiko with the rest of the team, practice finally over. There wasn't as much head butting with Kenshin as there was yesterday and she was thankful because she was somewhat still tired from the other practice. It was a mistake to take not work out in a week because of all the moving getting in the way.

The boys and Kaoru trudged up to the gym in silence, the younger ones carrying the equipment as usual. Kaoru, who was still new but a senior, was thankfully spared the chore.

Kaoru sighed as she walked into the locker room but realization crashed on her when she looked around and saw that the boys were starting to strip down to take their showers.

"AHHHHHHHH!" She yelled at the top of her lungs and covering her eyes with her hands, causing everyone to look at her, finally noticing her presence and making them hastily throw their clothing back on.

"What're you doing here?!" Sano questioned as he pointed a finger at Kaoru who was still slightly mortified that she was almost in a room of naked guys.

"I told her to use this locker room because it's for the soccer team." Kenshin explained as he stood next to Sano, Kaoru noticing that he was at least a foot shorter then him.

"Then you can go when we're done." One of the boys said.

"NO WAY!" Kaoru screeched "I have to do stuff, like go grocery shopping and feed my younger teenage brother! Do you _know_ what'll happen if I don't feed him?! He'll eat _ME_!" She continued to scream, trying to push everyone out the door.

Kenshin's eyebrow rose with the new information that she had a sibling, and a younger brother at that.

"Hey, you're new! _I've_ been on this team for two years!" A boy protested near the door frame.

"And _**I**_ can kick you ass, now all of you, OUT!" she yelled before they were all punched or kicked into the hallway, Kaoru closing the door with a huff and locking it.

As Hiko passed the hallway, he shot a cool look to his team as they sulked outside the locker room. But when they couldn't see his face, a small smirk formed.

Kaoru quickly showered, knowing that a door couldn't hold fifteen strong teenage guys. She finally emerged from the room and walked away with her head held up high as the other boys grumbled back into the room.

"At least she cleans up good, I'll say that." Sano joked to Kenshin as he passed him into the showers, but Kenshin took his statement into light consideration.

* * *

_A Few Days Later…_

Kaoru sighed in deep relief as she jogged into the huddle on Friday afternoon with the rest of the boys, the last practice until Monday.

"Well, you guys have been fine all week. Nothing extraordinary, but nothing horrible." Hiko grumbled with no emotion as he looked around the young faces.

"But onto more important issues." He said with a glint in his eye, making Kenshin's paranoia hike up a little, "We have to decide whether or not Kamiya is going to join our team." He continued as he grabbed her arm and pulled her out in front of everyone next to him.

Contrary to her usual fierce demeanor, she was now nervously playing with the end of her shirt in apprehension, her eyes suddenly finding the grass beneath her cleats very interesting.

There was silence for a few agonizing seconds, and still none of the boys looked like they were going to raise their voices or hands.

Right when Kaoru was going to leave, tears threatening to fall from her ice blue eyes, she saw a hand up in the air out of the corner of her eye.

"I think that she has great skills and potential. She can already beat almost everyone on this team in one-on-one, and I think that she would be a great addition to our team."

Everyone starred at Kenshin after he'd given his little speech, giving a small confident smile to Kaoru who graciously smiled back.

"Yeah, I think that we should keep Missy." Sano agreed, his hand joining Kenshin's in the air.

Soon, the other boys slowly raised their hands and even a few added their praise.

"Then it's decided." Hiko said when he saw every boy had agreed "That Kamiya can join the team and officially become a Scoring Samurai." He said in a booming voice as he looked around one more time.

"Welcome to the team Kamiya." He said as he looked down at her, who had a huge smile on her face. He turned away and soon the other boys followed.

"Kenshin, wait!" Kaoru called as she saw his bright red head in the front of the pack. He stopped and turned to her running form.

He didn't expect, however, to be hugged. Kaoru let him out of her tight hug after a few long seconds to stare up at him with big, shining eyes and a huge smile.

"Thank you SO much, you don't have ANY idea how much this means to me." She said as tears started to prickle her eyes again, this time in happiness, before she hugged him again.

Kenshin stood there for a second, completely dumbfounded, before he lightly hugged her back.

After a few minutes, Kaoru finally broke away, swatting her tears away from her face. "Sorry." She muttered as she laughed nervously.

Kenshin chuckled at her flustered state "No problem, I'm glad that I could help."

Kaoru smiled bashfully, a light blush on the bridge of her nose.

"Kamiya!" Hiko yelled from the entrance of the gym.

"Um…well, I'll see you later." She nervously said with a small smile as she jogged over to Hiko.

"Yeah, see ya." Kenshin replied even thought she couldn't hear him.

* * *

Kaoru sighed again as after she'd mouthed the number seven, the number she'd chosen for her uniform, as she leaned against the wall paralel to the locker room.

Her head jerked up when she heard the locker room door's open, the boys marching out slowly.

She smiled and waved to Kenshin as he came out. He waved back and just as he was going to go down the hall and walk away, he turned and came back to her.

"So does this mean we're not going to go against each other?" Kenshin asked, his wet bangs hanging in his face.

Kaoru smiled at him "I guess you're right, _amigo_." She said with a laugh as she punched his shoulder.

"Good." He laughed back and smiled to her gently, vaguely feeling the pain in his shoulder from her so called 'friendly punch.'

"Well, I'm gonna go take a shower, see you later Kenshin!" she said happily, her smile still on her face, as she waved and bounded into the now vacant locker room.

Kenshin shook his head playfully before walking back out of the building, his own smile still on his face.

* * *

_**A/N:** Nothing to say except...Please REVIEW!_


	4. Bend and Not Break

_**A/N: **uh...finally back to school with four honor classes, and there's so much drama with both my guy and girl friends I want to scream and cry like a three year old, so sorry if this chapter is dramatic, cause that's my life so that's how the story is going to be too XD  
_

_No, I don't own RK, but this whole pile of homework I really should be doing instead? Or my, like, million other chapters stories I need to update too? yes, sadly I own that shit...damn my life sucking school...I mean, frick, I have SATURDAY SCHOOL tomorrow, I wish they'd just f--k off already!_

_Wow...sorry for my boring ranting! now onto the more important story!  
_

* * *

**Chapter 4 : Bend and Not Break**

* * *

_Saturday_…

"Tell me again why I'm _working_ on the _weekend_?" Kenshin asked as he sat in the passenger seat of Sano's huge red truck.

"I told you already, this person called for so much stuff that I can't handle it by myself, or during school, that's why I'm getting you to help me, and we'll split the profit." Sano explained as he turned into the hardware store.

They jumped out of the car, Kenshin silently seething, and walked over to the man waiting for them, many boxes behind him. He didn't need the money, but he really knew that Sano wouldn't have called him if he didn't really need the help.

"Alright guys, you need to load this up and install everything for the young lady who order it. You may have to do it in the next few weekends because there's so much to do." The middle aged man explained as he handed a clipboard to Sano.

"You got it sir, but where do we deliver it?" Sano asked after he looked down at the clipboard.

"The address is under the list." The man said as he walked away, thankful that he only had to help the young lady pick out what she wanted and not actually install and move it.

There was a pause as Sano looked at the address before his eyes widened "Kenshin! Whoever ordered this is your new neighbor! We finally get to meet um!"

Kenshin looked up at him with wide eyes as Sano smirked back.

"Come on, let's load up and GO!"

* * *

Sano speed down the roads and up the driveway, Kenshin fearing the whole time that the truck would tip over; and stopped with a screech of brakes and rubber in Kenshin's neighbor's driveway.

They both jumped out and walked quickly to the door, taking a deep breath before knocking, the doors opening to reveal a confused Yahiko.

"Kenshin? What're you doing here and who's this?" He asked as he opened the door wider.

"We're here to deliver some supplies that you ordered." Sano stated, slightly disappointed that it was just the boy.

"Well, I didn't." Yahiko grumbled. "It must have been Busu." He concluded, rubbing his chin in thought.

At the name, both the teenage boy's faces blanked from suprise.

"Hey, Busu, GET UP! There're some people here to see you!" He yelled at the top of his lungs into the house.

"Shut-up! I'll be down in a second!" They heard the feminine reply from upstairs, making Kenshin gulp and become even more nervous, wondering if this was the woman he saw through his window from before.

"You're so annoying! You know that? I was having such a nice time sleeping in!" They heard her add in, her footsteps could be faintly heard walking down the upper hallway.

"It's almost 10, get over yourself." Yahiko snorted back.

"You sure know how to talk. Show some respect to your elders." Sano spat out, his father's teachings that had been pounded into his thick skull popping out.

Yahiko raised an eyebrow in confusion "Yeah, she's older then me, but still...why would I show respect to my _ugly_ _sister_."

"What?!" Both Sano and Kenshin said at the same time. They were under the false presumption that it had maybe been his Mom.

"How old is she?" Sano demanded with wide eyes.

"Uh…seventeen?" he answered, wondering where they were going with this.

"Kenshin…" Sano said seriously as he looked over to his best friend "You don't think that its-"

"Sorry about that, I had just woken up." Kaoru said cheerily as she bounded down the stairs with two leaps, but stopped for a second at the bottom when she saw Sano and Kenshin, who was starring at her with dropped jaws and shocked expressions.

"What're you guys doing here? Is there practice or something?" Kaoru stated calmly as she walked up to Yahiko, pulling on the bottom of her short formfitting shirt in an attempt to cover her obvious midriff.

"Does anyone else live with you Kaoru?" Kenshin questioned, the shocked expression still etched on his face.

"Nope, just the two of us." She said as she ruffled Yahiko's spiky hair.

"Feh! Like we _need_ anyone else." Yahiko added as he swatted away her hand in annoyance.

Sano and Kenshin shared a look before Sano cleared his throat and began to talk again "Anyway, Missy, we have your stuff that you bought at the hardware place."

Kaoru's eyes immediately lit up and clasped her hands "Really? That's so awesome! But…wait. _You're_ going to install them all?" she asked curiously as her hands dropped to rest at her sides again.

"Yeah, done it a million times." Sano said airily as he waved away her shocked expression "What do you want us to start with?"

"Kitchen!" Yahiko exclaimed as his teeth flashed, an eager smile now on his young face.

"Sure, the kitchen. So we can _eat_ some more." Kaoru said with a roll of her eyes. "Come on Yahiko, let's go help them." She ordered as she wedged between the two taller teenage guys and went to the truck.

Kenshin looked at Sano with huge purple eyes, silently pleading for him to help him with his new situation. Sano only looked at him with a blank expression before he cracked a smile and laughed, turning to help Kaoru with the fridge.

Kenshin groaned, knowing that his living conditions had just dramatically changed, and he wondered if it would be for better or for worse. As he turned around to see Kaoru yelling Yahiko, he dearly hoping it would be the first.

* * *

"Hey Kaoru, Kaoru!" Yahiko shouted as he ran down a hallway and into the kitchen where Kaoru was cooking (or trying to), "Look what I found!" He exclaimed as he skidded to a stop in front of her.

"What?" She sighed as she threw away her third attempt to bake cookies with the brand new oven that had just been installed.

"It's a guidebook to the house, it tells you the history and other cool stuff about it." He explained quickly while slapping it on the counter, his new motive now to find some ramen to eat.

Kaoru looked at it curiously before picking it up and flipping to a random page. "Wow, says here that there's a hot-spring right behind this house..." She drifted off just thinking about the wonderful warm water and how it would be the perfect thing to unkink her tight muscles. So she quickly gathered some shampoo and conditioner with a fluffy towel and yelled a good-bye to Yahiko before going off to find the hot-springs.

"Wow...they really are close by." She thought out loud when she'd found the natural wonder after only a few minutes from the back of her house.

She hastily looked around for a few minutes, to make sure no one else was around, before she stripped down to nothing and hesitantly slipped into the hot water.

"And it's heaven on earth." she added with a sigh as she looked around the steamy wonderland in the setting sun's rays, the warm waters relaxing her greatly and allowing her mind to wander.

"I should really apologize to Kenshin..." she murmured to her self, "I was so rude and then he stood up for me, and now he's helping with the house. God, I'm such a horrible person." she groaned as she dipped her shoulders deeper into the warm water.

"He's so nice and sweet..." she added with shy smile.

"Ok! Enough of stupid boys!" she clapped her hands together "Time to wash my hair!" she said before she leaned over and grabbed her shampoo bottle and started to massage the soothing lotion into her scalp.

She was so happy with the feeling of cleansing from the warm water and nice smelling shampoo that she started to hum a song to herself.

"_Ai yai yai, Ai yai yai, Ai yai yai...Where's my samurai?"_ she sang smoothly as she stood up and started to scrub her dirty body.

* * *

"I don't get Sano. He tells me to go to the hot springs, yet he decides to stay at the house and eat. What a hypocrite." Kenshin huffed to himself as he trudged the well worn out path that led to his secret natural wonder.

But he stopped immediately when he heard a soft sing-song voice drift through the forest, calming his angry mood instantly. He dropped his few possetions that he had brought with him before sneaking ahead, starting to crouch as he got closer to the harmonic sounds. After a few tense minutes, he had finally gotten close enough tocould the words clearly.

_"I'm searching for a man, all across Japan, just to find, to find my samurai. Someone who is strong, but still a little shy. Yes I need, I need my samurai..."_

He dashed closer behind an out cropping rock, peaking his head around to look at the blurry version of the person, finding that the person had their back to him. But when the steam blew away for a second, he was able to see their entire back, water hiding everything from the waist line down. The sight made him blush furiously when he realized it was a girl with creamy skin and long black hair.

Because he was so frazzled by the sight, he had leaned forward too much and had accidentally fallen into the hot water, clothes and all.

Kaoru's beautiful singing was replaced with a scream when she heard the huge splash; her hands shooting up to cover her chest protectively.

"What was that?" Kaoru asked with curiousity as she waded closer to the ripples, her hands still in their concealing position.

Just as she was about to turn around and dismiss it as her imagination, Kenshin sprung out of the water gasping for air from his failed attempt to hold his breath forever.

"Kenshin...?"

"Kaoru...?"

They both asked at the same time, their shocked faces matching.

As much as Kenshin tried to resist, he couldn't help but let his eyes roam over her exposed skin, marveling at how she a flat stomach and nice curves, the water still concealing everything from her bellybutton down as her hands hid her chest too. Kaoru noticed his violet eyes oggling her, and her face slowly started turning red with anger.

"Now Kaoru...I can explain-" Kenshin tried in a weak voice when his eyes fell on her angry face, but Kaoru interrupted him forcefully.

"GET THE HELL OUT YOU _PERVERT_!" she finally exploded before going lower into the water so only her head showed and grabbing a rock from the bottom of the shallow pond, hurdling it at his head, where it hit with deathly accuacy.

"Oro!" Kenshin yelled in pain as he attempted to scramble away.

"And to think I was going to apologize to someone like you!" She continued to rant as she threw anything she could get her hands at the poor redhead as he tried to swim to the shore and retreat back to his house.

"Oro! Oro! Oro!" he exclaimed every time a rock hit him, which was very often.

Kaoru's shoulders heaved after he'd finally gotten out and had sprinted away, his mass of red hair only a speck in the distance now.

"You _better_ freaking run away." she muttered to herself as she got out and wrapped a towel around her thin body and gathering her supplies before stomping back to her house.

"What has _your_ panties in a bundle?" Yahiko asked when she slammed the front doors closed, himself eating a bag of chips as he lounged on a couch they'd brought in today, a manga book in his lap that he casually turned the page in.

"Ask that damn Kenshin." Kaoru yelled before going up the stairs and slamming her door.

"More like _PMSing_." Yahiko said nonchalantly as he flipped the page of his book again.

* * *

"Wait-let me get this straight-you peeped on _KAORU_?!" Sano laughed as he sat on the couch near Kenshin who was sitting stiffly in a lazy boy.

"Go to hell." Kenshin stated with a flash of amber covering his eyes, but that made Sano only laugh harder and fall off the couch with a thump.

"Why is the loaf laughing at now?" Hiko asked as he walked in on the teenagers in a black night kimono.

"K...Kenshin was totally peeping on K...K...KAORU!" Sano managed to blurt out between peals of laughter.

Hiko blinked as he starred at Kenshin who glarred back. After a second he lifted an eyebrow, his lips following in making a small smile that made Kenshin squint his eyes in annoyance. He covered his mouth with one of his massive hands as a deep chuckle escaped his throat.

"That made my week, heck, my _month_." Hiko said as he excited the room, a small smile still on his face.

"I hate my god damn life." Kenshin swore as he looked down at Sano, who looked like he was having a hard time getting enough oxygen from his never ending laughter.

* * *

_**A/N: **Before I forget and you ask, the song I used is called 'Butterfly' by Smile.dk, one of my asian friends gave it to me and I thought instantly of RK, so I thought I'd use it in this story, it'll pop up again later...or at least I think it will XD_

Thanks for reading and so please, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!


	5. Extraordinary Girl

_**A/N:** You wanted it, so it's finally here! I updated, sound the trumpets and praise the lord! lol, anyway, I finally got off my lazy ass and updated cause I've been in an RK writing craze, finishing one of my stories and starting another (urgh) and so I thought I'd update for this story even though I really should be doing it for other stories...oh wells!_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter. We're sorta heading into a new arc where some new faces will start to pop up...making some people's lives that much harder (evil laughter)_

_Standard disclamer or whatever, I'm too tired for a witty coment...urgh...bed...sleep..._

* * *

**Chapter 5 : Extraordinary Girl**

* * *

_Sunday..._

"Get you _l__azy ass up_ Baka!"

Kenshin groaned and only snuggled deeper into his fluffy comforter and hugged his pillow closer to his chest, not wanting to greet the morning just yet, especially to Hiko's voice.

"I said get up! Do you expect _ME__ t_o cook my own breakfast?!" Hiko continued to rant, Kenshin noticing in annoyance that his voice was closer and he could now hear his heavy footsteps. Finally he felt his demanding presence standing next to his bed, starring down at the lump that was himself.

"I said get up."

Kenshin still didn't verbally respond, only slightly twitching under his thick blanket.

Hiko sighed in clear annoyance before he ripped the blanket off the bed, revealing Kenshin's lithe body in nothing but a pair of stripped boxers. Kenshin only groaned, his eyes still shut tightly, and hugged the pillow he was cuddling closer to his chest.

"Idiot, I know you're angry that you screwed up with that new girl or whatever," Kenshin cracked his eyes open in anger, a flash of amber showing for a second, but Hiko obliviously continued on "But you really just need to get your ass out of bed, cook me food, and then go make up with your new girlfriend."

"Hiko!" Kenshin finally snapped as he jumped out of bed, trying to stare down Hiko despite his deficiency in height, "She's not my girlfriend, so just butt out of my business!" he yelled in his mentor's face, making Hiko raise an eyebrow in amusement.

"Ok, fine. One more question though." Hiko asked as he rubbed his chin with a few fingers, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Kenshin warily nodded his red head, deducing it couldn't be that bad.

"So how much did you _really_ see?"

Kenshin blinked, his amethyst eyes confused, before recognition dawned on him and he blushed just as red as his hair. He didn't think twice before he pushed Hiko out the room with all the strength he could muster in his small body, too embarrassed to stutter a reply.

He slammed his door in his face and Hiko only deeply chuckled before walking back into the kitchen, knowing Kenshin would now cook him something to dull the throb of embarrassment, or, if it came down to it, the threat of blackmailing.

"My life is just getting better and better the worse my Baka's becomes." He stopped walking for a second, putting his hands in his kimono sleeves as another thought passed by. "I'm not that sadistic, right?" he asked to no one before another deep rumble bubbled out of his mouth, finding it was very easy to amuse himself now a days, and continuing on to the kitchen, passing Sano who was in the living room.

Sano looked at his soccer coach curiously as he walked back into the kitchen, a small smile etched on his face, deciding to just shake it off and continue watching his extremely violent cartoons.

* * *

"Busu! Get up!" Yahiko yelled though Kaoru's doors as she groggily sat up from her lying down position.

"I'm going to go hang out with a few new friends, I'll see you later!" Yahiko hurriedly said before Kaoru heard the padding of his footsteps down the hall and the wooden doors slam in a few more seconds.

"He already has friends? He's more social then me. That's sad." Kaoru sighed as she got up and started to brush her extremely long silky black hair that fell over her shoulders. She quickly threw it up in its usual high ponytail before slipping on a form-fitting shirt and lose jeans, the only things she practically wore.

"I might as well go into town and see the sights, if there's any of course…" she dawdled as she grabbed an apple and the car keys, off to explore more of the town.

* * *

"Kaoru?" Sano questioned as he knocked on the front doors, tools in his hands and more boxes from the hardware store piled in his truck bed. Kenshin stood and started fidgeting next to him, still worried that Kaoru would start chucking rocks at him when she decided to show her face.

"Hm…well I guess she's not home, I mean, the car is gone and all." Sano said as he scratched his head in bewilderment while Kenshin only sighed in relief.

"Then we can just head back to my house and go do something else." Kenshin replied cheerily as he turned around and was about to start walking, but Sano yanked his shirt, bringing him to an immediate halt.

"I think the door's open." He said, and sure enough, the door opened with a squeak and push, revealing Kaoru's house that they'd spent almost all of yesterday in.

"Lets get to work." Sano said with determination, a sighing Kenshin following.

_Sometime later..._

"Lets take a break Kenshin."

Kenshin slumped on his back and sighed in relief, Sano laughing at his exhausted state.

"I'm beat." Kenshin whined as they went into the kitchen and helped themselves to some water from the fridge, Kenshin reassuring this was a small compensation for what Yahiko had practically stolen from his house when they'd first arrived.

"How can you do this practically every weekend? It's so tiring and boring." Kenshin stated as he sat down in a chair, Sano following him in an adjacent one in a few seconds.

"I guess I'm just more strong then you." Sano laughed back, making Kenshin lightly frown.

"Please, you're as scrawny as me."

There was silence for a few seconds, Kenshin secretly enjoying the quiet moment, that is, until Sano interrupted it with a question that made Kenshin choke on his water.

"So did you tell Kaoru you live next to her as you starred at her goods?"

Kenshin coughed violently to free the water that had been accidentally sucked into his wind pipe. After he was done, he glared out at Sano with venom, daring him to ask the question again.

"Well?" Sano edged on, ignoring the 'I'll-kill-you' body language and vibes Kenshin was clearly sending his way.

"I didn't tell her." He finally blurted out through grit teeth, crossing his arms tightly across his chest.

"Don't you think she'll find out?"

"She hasn't found out yet." Kenshin snapped, clearly annoyed with the situation. It was really a miracle to him that she hadn't found out yet, but he wasn't one to complain.

"Yeah man, how is it you've never seen each other?" Sano asked as he leaned back further in the chair and propping his legs on the table, only two legs on the floor now.

"I guess it's only coincidence, different schedules?" Kenshin questioned with a sigh as he his shoulders started to become less tense and he eased his arms to his sides lazily again.

"But it won't last for long, it'll happen eventually. And man, you better tell her soon or else she'll chew you out bad if she does on her own." Sano added before he went back to the bathroom to finish the tiles.

Kenshin sighed before following, knowing that when Sano did give advice, which was very rare, it was to be followed or else horrible events were likely to occur.

* * *

Kaoru glared at her younger brother who was currently in the passenger seat of her old jeep. She had been having a fine time at the small string of shops that they called a mall here, before she'd seen her brother come sprinting down the road, a friend at his side laughing. She remembered raising an eyebrow in confusion, but when another younger girl came around the corner with slight tears in her eyes and a distraught look on her face, it was all that Kaoru needed to trip her brother and stop him, his friend running away to freedom and the girl dissapearing.

She stole a glare at him as he pouted, his knees and right elbow scrapped from the fall, but Kaoru was determined to teach him a bigger lesson.

"I'll ask you one more time." She ground out through grit teeth and a deeply furrowed brow, "What did you do to that girl with your friend?"

"His name is Yutaro and I don't care what that girl's name is." He snarled.

Kaoru waited in silence for him to continue, which he eventually did.

"I meet him at school and saw him today too and we decided to do a prank, ok?"

"On a helpless, poor _little girl_?" Kaoru began to lecture, making Yahiko sink into his chair even more.

Kaoru sighed, regretting the fact that she now had the responsibility to take care of this whirling dervish.

"Look, when we get home, you'll receive twice as hard the punishment if you had told me." She stated with authority, as they got closer to their house, making the young teenager scowl and snarl.

A few more minutes, and they had driven up the driveway and the engine turned off, Kaoru noticing that Sano's huge red truck was still parked in her unpaved driveway.

She opened the door with a bam and stomped into the kitchen. But when she saw Kenshin and Sano there taking a break from their hard work, already stressed and angry from Yahiko's disobedience, she snapped.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE YOU _LITTLE_ _SHIT_!" she yelled with all her might, making Sano tip over and fall out of his chair and Kenshin to spit out his mouthful of water.

"GET OUT YOU PERVERT!" she yelled before she tried to lung at Kenshin, but he squirmed and bolted away, Kaoru following after.

"Kaoru, please! _Act civil_!" Kenshin pleaded as she chased after him, a deadly boken in her hand, eyes dancing with fire.

"NO WAY IN _HELL_!"

Fearful for his life now, he managed to evade her attacks (for the most part) and had ran out of the door and down the driveway, Kaoru panting from the doorway as she watched his retreating form.

"Wow Missy, you sure showed him." Sano said with appreciation as he leaned over her shorter body to find Kenshin was now only a spot of red.

"And you!" she growled as she turned to him, making him put his hands up in defense.

"Woah, woah! I'm here to install you stuff, remember?" he asked as he warily looked down at the boken, hoping she wasn't going to use it on him.

She huffed before stomping away from him and up to her room.

"Do you have to deal with this everyday?" Sano asked as he entered the living room where Yahiko was sprawled on a couch, flipping through the channels on a TV Sano and Kenshin had installed not too long ago.

"Sadly, yes." He grumbled as he swabbed at his bleeding knees and elbow with antibiotics before slapping on some huge band-aids from their large first aid box.

"And I thought my family was demented…" Sano muttered before he gathered his tools and went out, deciding to actually go home.

As he drove down the driveway, he found a sour Kenshin at the bottom, his thumb jerked out in a sign he wanted a ride.

"I'm staying over tonight." Kenshin grumbled as he hopped into the truck.

"Sure, whatever." Sano joked before turning and heading to his house on the far edge of town. Sano wanted to make fun of how he'd been practically run out of his own home, but resisted as he knew Kenshin's pride had already taken a few hits just like his body.

* * *

_Monday…_

"Welcome back team, I'm guessing everyone had a _interesting_ weekend." Hiko said as his team gathered around him, stressing the word 'interesting' as he glanced from Kaoru and Kenshin who only returned his glittering eyes with sour faces.

"I'm glad to say that we have a new addition to our team that you've obviously noticed."

Kaoru tilted her head to the side, wondering who the new person was.

"His name is Shinomori Aoshi and from today on he is as much part of this team as any of you." Hiko stated, daring anyone to go against him.

"When will we meet him?" Kaoru asked with excitement as she waved her arm in the air, getting Hiko's attention right away.

"He's already here as I've said. Aoshi, come here." Hiko stated and Kaoru looked towards the benches, finding that she was so absorbed in trying to glare a hole through Kenshin's head, that she hadn't noticed him silently sitting there.

"It's an honor for you to be on our team, my name is Kaoru." Kaoru beamed as she stuck an arm out for him to shake, which he did stiffly, not a flicker of emotion coming over his face.

"I'm the captain, Kenshin." Kenshin added as he stood next to Kaoru, but didn't stick his hand out, instead starring up at the taller teenager, Kaoru could only guess it was a alpha male thing.

Finally Aoshi, after a very few tense minutes, lightly bowed his head and murmured his name again.

"God, could you be any more welcome?" Kaoru joked as she elbowed Kenshin in the ribs, making him lightly groan, before she turned around and started towards the field where Hiko had gone, intending on starting practice.

"Today we'll be practicing straight shooting in case we get into a shoot out, which is usually not very uncommon. But sadly our goalie is out today with the flu, so Kenshin will take his place." (Note: A shoot-out is what happens after there's extra time if both teams are still tied in a game. Players shoot openly at the goal with no body there except the goalie, and the team who has the best out of the five kicks wins. It's one of the scariest things I've done and one of the most rewarding too.)

Kenshin groaned at hearing the information, hating the position.

"Why do I have to be goalie coach?" he whined with slight anger.

"Because you don't need this practice as much as everyone else here, now stop sniveling!"

And with that, everyone started to line up for their chance to shoot at the goal, Kaoru sadly pushed to the back, the team still not entirely accepting her yet.

She starred at Kenshin's figure as it crouched in the goal, waiting for her best shoot. Her eyebrows suddenly furrowed deeply, her rage for him suddenly bubbling up from the surface again.

And so with her hands clutched in fists, she shot. Except instead of wanting to get the ball inside the goal, she just wanted to knock Kenshin's head off his body.

He caught the ball into his stomach that was directly aimed at him with a huff, the ball knocking the breath out of him. With barely enough time to recover, she shot another ball towards him, this time he barely dodged it before it soared above his head. Soon, balls were being kicked at him from every direction by her, his own new duty not to prevent the ball from getting into the goal, but to not get seriously hurt. The team, including Hiko, could only stare as she kicked the balls like there was no tomorrow.

"And _this_ is for peeking at me in the hot springs!" She muttered with venom to herself as she kicked the last ball, landing square on his forehead and making him fall to the ground with a thud, the only thing he could see were stars and the only sound was the ringing of his ears.

The team glanced from sprawled Kenshin to huffing and smirking Kaoru before a few of them sprinted over to Kenshin who was finally coming to, a large red mark now forming on his head, Hiko only watching silently from nearby, wondering if he should punish or congratulate Kaoru on the new injury she inflicted on Kenshin.

"Take that, bastard." She gloated under her breath with a smirk.

* * *

"Dude! Kaoru kicked you ASS today!" one of the boys joked as he clasped his hand to Kenshin's back while he was rubbing his forehead, making Kenshin hiss in pain.

"What's up? Something with your back?" Sano asked as he looked at Kenshin, getting ready to take a shower.

With a light glare and no words, Kenshin threw off his shirt and turned around, Sano slightly winced at the sight. The other teenage boys gathered around Sano to stare at the huge, vertical purple and yellow blister that stretched across half his back.

"What happened man?" Another boy asked as he lightly poked the swollen area, making Kenshin yelp and jump back.

_"Kaoru_ is what _happened_." He growled, remembering how he'd tripped on the flight of stairs while running away from her in her house and she'd smacked his back with her wooden sword with all her might, which was actually quite a lot.

"It seems to me that your _girlfriend_ is more suited for the position of captain then _you_." A dark voice boldly stated, making the boys snap around to stare at Aoshi who had just entered the room, but had heard what he'd said and seen his injury.

There was a few tense seconds, and as hard as Sano tried, he couldn't keep his loud laughter under control and soon the rest of the team joined in.

Kenshin could only glare at his new team member as he gracefully went into the showers, not daring to open his mouth when he was angry in case he said something that would only shoot him in the foot and dig his grave only deeper.

* * *

"I'm so bored I think I'm going to DIE!" Kaoru exclaimed as she jumped onto her bed, bouncing a few times on her stomach before flipping to her back and starring at the ceiling. She had already finished her homework a while ago and she couldn't think of what to do now except stare at her ceiling in boredom.

"I miss talking to my friends, even though I only had a few. And we didn't talk a ton or hang out a lot...but still. Speaking of which, where is my cell phone?" She questioned as she searched her room, finally finding it, having completely forgotten it in her new life.

She turned it on and found in awe that she had thirty seven messages all from the same person and oddly, great service. Quickly going to to her messages, she listened to the first one. As the obvious bubbly voice filtered from the phone to her ear, Kaoru couldn't hold in a giggle.

She yelped when her phone lit up and started to vibrate. It stopped in a few seconds and she looked down and found that she had a new text message. She tilted her head to the side in curiosity before she opened and read it.

"_open ur front door_?" she read quietly before she got up and walked to door, sliding down the stairs on the handrail and actually landing on the bottom and not eating it.

She took a big breath before she opened the doors and revealed…

* * *

_**A/N: **(dodges rotten tomatoes and other junk) I'm sorry! I know, cliffhanger, but at least I updated, right? I've just been super busy, like I started driving! It's so much fun! You should know the drill by now...REVIEW!_


	6. Attention Attention

_**A/N: **Even though I'm writing this at 4:30 in the morning cause I couldn't get back to sleep still doesn't mean I own RK, so sad too bad. But regardless, please enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 6 : Attention Attention**

* * *

_She took a big breath before she opened the doors and revealed…_

Kaoru's breath was taken away and she just stared at the person in front of her, her mouth or brain not being able to come up with anything to say. She blinked a few times before finally asking…

"Misao?"

"The one and only!" She answered in a bubbly voice before she latched herself onto the taller girl and proceeded to try and hug her to death.

"Oh my _GOD_, it's so good to see you!" Misao added after they'd screamed their heads off in an alarming high pitch that, no doubt, Kenshin had easily heard next door.

"What're you doing here?" Kaoru finally managed to ask before she lead Misao into the kitchen.

"Aren't you happy?" Misao asked in a fake pout and sparkling emerald eyes.

"Come on, you know what I mean." Kaoru said with a small smile as she got her best friend a juice, passion fruit flavor that she knew was Misao's favorite flavor cause she always daydreamed about Hawaii.

"Well, I just really missed by best friend and wanted to see her, all the other girls at our school are stuck up like 'Black Bitch'." Misao said with a snarl as she popped open the can with vengeance.

"Don't even say that name, when she left for those two years they were the happiest years of my life. And when she graduated...thank the LORD!" Kaoru joked before the two teenage girls started laughing together.

"So have you made any new friends?" Misao finally asked after their laughter had died down.

"Not really, all the girls are in little packs of two or three and they've been friends for their entire lives so there's no room. And all the boys…never mind. But everyone is still really nice." Kaoru sighed as she looked out the window and saw the dark sky and a few twinkling stars.

"Well, at least I'm here now." Misao said with sincerity and one of her huge, animated smiles.

"Wanna see my room?" Kaoru asked gleefully before grabbing her wrist and darting up the stairs.

"God, no offense Kaoru, but this is sorta sad." Misao said with slight seriousness as she went around the sparsely decorated room.

"Well excuuuse meee, miss fashionista." Kaoru said, rolling her eyes.

"But it's no problem because we can go shopping!" Misao squealed as she went over to her huge walk in closet and Kaoru went back to her bed.

"Can't. There're barely any shops around here." Kaoru said as she laid down on her back again.

"I'll find something." Misao called from the closet as she flipped through her clothes. "And do you wear anything except jeans and t-shirts?"

"No, and you already know that." Kaoru said back with a small smile, feeling grateful that she finally had someone to talk to.

"But you have such a hot body, you need to flaunt it." Misao said with a raised finger as she walked back into the room.

"Ah come on, I look horrible in skirt."

"No way, remember when-" But Misao suddenly cut herself off when she looked out the window.

"Misao?" Kaoru asked after a tense second or two.

"Kaoru!" Misao whispered harshly as she jumped over to the bed and dragged her over to the window, crawling right below the bottom.

"What're you doing?" Kaoru asked with amusement and a raised eyebrow.

"Who the hell is _that_?!" She asked as she peaked her head out to look out the window for a second before darting back under the sill.

Kaoru tilted her head to the side in curiosity before she warily spied over the window sill too. Her eyes immediately focused on the lighted window not far off and she could see Kenshin, only wearing a towel low around his hips that showed off his lithe, but muscular, body. Kaoru fell down below the window again with a red faced and turned to a gleaming Misao.

"You have the hottest neighbor ever!" Misao whispered as Kaoru rolled her eyes and crawled back over to her bed.

"It's nothing, I'm sure he doesn't even live there but is just visiting or something. Now were you the one who left all those messages on my cell phone?" She asked innocently as she puffed one of her pillows.

"Don't even _try_ to change the subject, Kaoru! Who was that red headed hottie?!" She exclaimed as she bounded over to the queen bed and jumped on to it.

"He's no one Misao, now drop it!" Kaoru exclaimed and she felt her cheeks start to heat up, and wondered why. She was _angry_ at him, dang it!

"You like him!" Misao squealed as she clasped her hands near her chest. "Does that mean you're over that other football guy?" Misao continued to ask.

"NO! I don't like him and I _NEVER_ _was_ with him. No matter HOW much he liked to say and pretend that we were going out." Kaoru huffed.

"You're ly-ing!" Misao chimmed as she wagged her finger back and forth in front of her childish face. "I should do you a favor and go tell that person next door with the hot bod that you like him!" She shrieked before she tried to bolt from the bed, but Kaoru tackled her again.

"Just kidding, just kidding!" Misao laughed even though her body was being crushed by Kaoru.

"What're best friends for?" Kaoru said with sarcasm to herself before letting go of a giggling Misao.

Yahiko sighed as he heard another squeal from the two teenage girls, knowing they'd keep it up all night.

* * *

"So what do you think of the new guy, Aoshi?" Hiko asked as he read the paper and Kenshin was cooking dinner, just having gotten out of the shower (but we already know that, lol).

"He's a douche bag." He mumbled to himself as he opened their huge refrigerator and got out some tofu.

"Hm?" Hiko asked, not hearing him, as he flipped a page.

"Nothing, no opinion." Kenshin said hotly, favoring to take his anger out on the tofu and cut it into small squares with a lot more force then necessary.

"Well, tomorrow there's another person joining our team too." Hiko said blandly, but moved his eyes briefly to see Kenshin's reaction.

Kenshin's eyes widened slightly and his body became slightly ridgid, thinking of what the next person would be like, the first two, he had deduced, not being exactly what you'd call _normal_.

"You have _got_ to be kidding, Hiko." Kenshin growled as he took the tofu and put it into the pot with the rest of the miso soup he was making.

"No." He answered blandly as he put down the paper, wanting to devote his entire attention to Kenshin's reaction.

"But we already have two new players, won't it set off our playing?!"

"Now, now, don't worry about it _Ken-ny_." Hiko said in a dark, but joking voice, oddly stretching out the cute nickname.

"Urgh, stupid sadist." Kenshin grumbled before turning back to dinner, having to cut up the green onions still.

There was silence for a few minutes before Hiko broke it again with a simple, yet deadly, question.

"So how's Kaoru doing?"

Kenshin, surprised by the question, accidentally cut himself with the knife.

"_Damnit Hiko_!" Kenshin snapped as he went to the sink and rinsed off the blood, looking in the drawer nearby for a Band-Aid or something to bandage his cuts.

"Not my fault you're clumsy, now answer the question." He stated as he got up from his chair.

"What _about_ her?" He growled as he finally found some white cloth tape to wrap up his index and thumb fingers that he'd sliced, and fairly deep too.

"Well…aren't you guys together and shouldn't I be concerned for my Baka on his lame love life?" Hiko asked as he took out a bottle of sake, taking a swig at the end of his new question.

"Look, Hiko. Just butt out, ok?" Kenshin asked, a tiny undertone of pleading in his voice, but was mostly laced in annoyance.

"Fine, but you know, the new person whose coming to our team is form her old school and hey, you never know. They might be _old lovers_." He said, stretching the last word just the right amount that he knew would annoy Kenshin.

"Look, it has nothing to do with me. Anyway, she's pissed off at me." He explained.

"Did you apologize?" Hiko asked before taking another swig of sake, Kenshin inwardly wondering how no matter how much he drank, he never seemed drunk.

"Why?" Kenshin asked with a tilt of his head as he added in the now finished cut green onions, starting to stir the soup a little more.

"Yeah, cause its all _her_ fault that you went in and peeped." Hiko said with a casual roll of his eyes.

"Like you know anything about relationships." Kenshin spat as he dished the soup into two bowls.

"More then you know, Baka." Hiko said sternly, and Kenshin knew that he was wadding into dangerous and deep waters.

"So…whose this new player?" Kenshin asked, changing the subject.

"You'll find out." Hiko said with amusement as he saw Kenshin's face fall.

* * *

_Tuesday…_

"Alright team, bring it in!" Hiko boomed after they'd done their warm up, Kenshin edgy to meet the new person as Aoshi ran in with him, towering over him with his huge height advantage.

"As you all know, we have our arch enemy team." Hiko said in a serious voice, the concept of it made Kaoru laugh out loud, making all the boys (excluding Aoshi) to glare at her, making her laughter cut short.

"As I was saying, that team we all love to hate is called the Tokyo Tyrants-" Hiko was cut off again by Kaoru who gave a loud gasp in recognition of the name.

"You know them?" Sano asked casually as he stood next to her.

"Ehehe…" Kaoru laughed nervously as all eyes were on her again.

"Sorta…I mean…Iwasontheirteam." She mumbled out at the end, but still clear and slow enough for the boys to understand and gasp.

"No way! You were on the girl's team?! Didn't you win states?!" Sano asked in surprise, his eyes large.

"Wait! Kamiya, the captain! I remember now! So you weren't lying?" Kenshin shot in too, a newfound appreciation now starting to form for the tough girl player.

"Did you know any of the boy players?" Hiko finally cut through the chatter that had started up with his demanding voice.

"Yeah, a few of them." Kaoru said, not wanting to get killed by her new team at the aspect of her still being friends with the enemy.

"Then you no doubt know our new addition." Hiko said with a smirk that made all the teenagers drop their jaws in shock.

"You've gotta be shitting me." Sano mumbled through grit teeth, his eyebrows deeply furrowed.

"Ah, here he is." Hiko said as the team turned their heads to a person jogging up in red shorts and a red and silver shirt, no doubt the old uniform from the team.

When Kaoru saw the familiar face, she couldn't help but let out a scream similar to the one when she first saw Misao, and launched herself at the new person when they got close enough.

"Oh my GOD!" she continued to screech as the boy twirled her around, easily able to hold up her body weight despite his thin, and fairly short, body.

"Sou-chan! How are you?" Kaoru finally managed to choke out when they'd stopped spinning and had stopped to look into another's smiling faces.

"Not bad, you Kou-chan?"

"Well, here's our number three addition to our team this season, Seta Sojiro." Hiko said, smirking as he saw Kenshin's eyes immediately darkening.

"How are you Seta-san?" Kenshin spat out bluntly, Kaoru and Sojiro turning their heads from each other to his direction.

"Fine, how are you Himura-san?" He said as his smile stretched a little more, but Kaoru knew that it was slightly forced, knowing all his smiles no matter how similar they looked.

"I see that you already know one of our players." Kenshin said as he shot a quick look to Kaoru.

"You're on the team?" Sojiro asked as he snapped his head back to Kaoru who nodded her head shyly, a small blush lightly across her face.

"Well, good job then! How bout tomorrow I take you out to-"

"Hey!" Kenshin snapped, feeling his temper rise, "It's not time to make stupid dates."

Kaoru and Sojiro looked at each other for a second before bursting out into laughter.

"Wow, that's a good one, me and Kaoru _dating_." Sojiro said after they'd finished.

"We're only really good friends since, like, fourth grade right?"

"Third." Sojiro corrected with his trusty smile still on his face.

"Feh, whatever. Just both of you get on the field and let's go. That counts for all of you." Kenshin ordered his team, ignoring the small swell of relief that had flooded through him when they'd said they were only friends.

* * *

"La, la, la, la…la, la, la…" Misao hummed to herself as she walked around the school that was now almost deserted, everyone at their sports except for a few stragglers and teachers.

"I wonder where Kaoru practices…might as well find out." She though to herself, and so she started to hop down the hill to the awaiting green fields. She had spent the entire day with Kaoru and her classes and was glad to have some fresh air. Even though she was in Highschool too didn't mean she had to like it.

As usual, the first thing she had done was check out all the boys in every class and had seen quite a lot of 'Cinnamon' as she'd nicknamed Kenshin because of his odd hair color that made her oddly think of the sweet spice. It had actually made Kaoru laugh in amusement so it'd naturally stuck. Back at their old school in Tokyo, they'd almost named all the people they'd knew with odd nicknames. It was considered a game to them.

But one guy had stuck out even more then Kenshin. He was very tall as she had walked by, she only measured up to barely half his chest. He had dark jet-black hair similar to Kaoru's, but also similar piercing blue eyes, the only difference was it may have been a shade lighter. But sadly, she had only seen him for a second as they'd changed classes in the hallway, and Misao had ruled out asking Kaoru because she guessed she didn't know tall, dark, and handsome.

She sighed as she saw the soccer team in sight, doing drills and other things that she really didn't want to think about. She'd done soccer until freshman high school, losing her love for it and devoting all her energy into her ninja arts and other things (coughboyscough).

She sighed as she sat down at one of the benches and watched the many boys and Kaoru run around chasing that stupid ball for no real reason.

Hiko glanced her way for a second, wondering what she was doing, but saw the tight jeans and designer shirt and decided she only wanted to watch.

After a few minutes, she'd decided that many of them were fairly good looking and almost made her want to join, just to get more time together.

She gasped when she saw that oh so familiar humorless face that darted quickly away on his long legs. She sat up instantly, and surprisingly, didn't have any problem with sitting there for the next hour and half, content on watching his graceful movements.

When it was time to finally come in, Kaoru ran up to her happily with Sojiro in tow.

"Hey Misao, look! It's Sou-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah, great. Now tell me who that is." She said dreamily as she pointed to Aoshi who was pouring some water on his head in an attempt to cool down which made Misao want to drool and take a million pictures.

"How can you be so disrespectful to Sou-chan?!" Kaoru yelled angrily, making Kenshin lean his head in her direction, wondering who was now under the wrath of her anger.

"Look, I know, he was on the same plane as me." Misao mumbled hurridly, the new information only adding to Kaoru's fuel.

"And you didn't _tell_ me?!" Kaoru hissed and all Sojiro could do was stand there and smile.

"And _you_ haven't told me that super hottie's name!" Misao hissed back, which made Kaoru blink. Usually she wasn't as serious as this, especially with boys. To her, they were considered something close to toys.

"What're you so hyped about?" Kaoru asked sincerely in a whisper, Sojiro favoring to go and get some water as the two girls talked it out.

"Look, it'd never work out between you two, he's an _The King of ICE_!" Kaoru said as she got her own water, Misao closely in tow.

"That's a good name! I like it, good job!" Misao gushed as she glanced over to him again, this time he was only stretching but still made her swoon.

"Look Misao, I know you. You see a cute guy, go out for him for a month of two, _sometimes_ kiss, and then dump him because he got boring for you. Anyways, it'll be the end of the world if I see that guy crack a smile." Kaoru joked at the end.

With that said, she jogged back onto the field for the last part of the practice with rest of the team, not wanting to be punished for loitering by Hiko, which meant they had to run suicides (god these are hell).

Misao, for once in a long time, sat down on the bench again and started to plan this thing through rather then just following her gut instincts.

First, she had to convince Kaoru. Second, get closer…

* * *

_**A/N: **Well, there you go. As I said before, more people and so more drama is sure to insure! I really hoped you enjoyed reading it cause it's fun writing it when I get the time. So as always, PLEASE REVIEW! __Thanks, and _**HAPPY HA1L0W3EN**!! _Get high on sugar! Weeee! :B_


	7. Where It's At

_**A/N: **Well, sorry for the super long period without an update, but here it finally is! In this chapter there's more Yahiko cause a lot of people have been asking for it and I wanna try and write with more characters to make the story even more interesting. But that kinda means that there's less KxK, but there will be a lot of them in the next chapter which is sorta forming in my brain, so no worries! Anyway, hope you enjoy it and remember to review and tell me what you think!_

_And no, I don't own RK, I mean, if I did do you really think I'd be writing fanfiction? No, I'd be in a mansion sipping Starbucks (um...my crack) __**  
**_

* * *

**Chapter 7 : Where It's At**

* * *

After practice, Sojiro had asked for a ride home and Kaoru couldn't be happier to have some time to talk to her old friend. Misao had come with her too, of course, but was oddly quiet in the back seat. But Kaoru didn't notice too much as she had all her attention on Sojiro.

"Well, it was kind of unintentional." Sojiro began to talk, as they pulled out of the parking lot, Kaoru deciding to cut out on a shower and go straight home to use the hot springs again (reminding her self to wear a bathing suit just in case).

"I got injured, twisted my ankle, during one of the more intense practices back in Tokyo and they threw me off the team, even though I healed completely in two weeks. They considered me _weak_."

"They can do that?!" Kaoru gasped, glancing over to Sojiro before locking her eyes back on the road.

"We had just gotten a new coach, so I guess yeah. And I personally think he was just freaked out by all my smiling." He answered with a shrug, obviously not the least bit annoyed with the decision.

"So anyway, I decided I didn't really want to stay at that stuck-up, preppy, private Highschool in that huge dirty city. Me and my parents had always wanted to live in the country anyway." His smile stretched a little more over his face and Kaoru could tell by the light atmosphere in the car he was genuinely happy.

"And then I remembered what town you had gone to, and decided to follow you like the stalker I am." He laughed lightly at his own joke, Kaoru joining along.

"And it helps too that this soccer team is the third best team in Japan." He added nonchalantly, but it made Kaoru's eyes bug out.

"_WHAT_?!" She screeched as she slammed on the brakes of her old jeep, making Misao fall onto the floor with a yelp, having been lying down without a seat belt since these were rural roads.

"Kaoru, it's no big deal." Sojiro tried to consol as the car stood still in the middle of the road; thankfully no other cars approaching on either side. Misao got up with a groan and sat back in her seat, this time strapping on a seat belt.

"I had no idea! No wonder the practices are so hard!" Kaoru thought out loud as she leaned her head against the top of the steering wheel.

"Well, yeah, they're trying to get first this year and beat our old school, Tokyo Preparatory Academy, showing that you don't need all that money and glamour to win." He explained briefly, making a small smile come onto Kaoru's lips and press on the gas petal again, making the car jump into motion.

"Well then, it seems like we've switched to the right side in this _epic war of colliding titans_." Kaoru said in a comical deep voice that made both of the old soccer playing friends join in laughter again.

"Oh, turn here! It's my house!" Sojiro said as they approached a driveway, taking at least two minutes to drive up the windy road before the house finally came into view.

"Where's your house Kou-chan?" Sojiro asked before he jumped out of the jeep.

"Up there." She stated as she pointed to her large palace like house on the highest hill in the area, able to see it from almost anywhere in town.

"Whe-_oh_! Bet we can have some awesome parties up there!" Sojiro whistled, a smile that had a trace of a smirk on his handsome face, which made Kaoru roll her eyes.

"But who lives in the second?" He asked quickly after as his bright eyes had taken in to account her house wasn't alone on the hill.

"Dunno…Oh hey! Look! Whoever lives there is driving up there right now!" Kaoru cheered and squinted her eyes to try and get a better look.

"A blackm, convertible Ferrari?!" Sojiro asked, knowing he had better eyesight then Kaoru, but wondering who had such a flamboyant car. They'd sped into the garage before he could have seen the driver to identify, or at least, describe them.

"The only person I know who'd have a car like that is Kenshin." Kaoru furrowed her brow in thought, remembering how Misao had seen him in that window and how he was at the hot springs too. She had deduced he was only working in that house with Sano like they'd done in her home, but could it be possible that _he_ was _actually_ her neighbor? She shook her head lightly and closed her eyes, still in denial.

"Well, gotta go! Don't stress Kou-chan!" He joked before grabbing his bag in his lap and running to his front door and disappeared inside the cozy house.

"Wanna go shot-gun Misao?" Kaoru asked as she twisted her head to look at her other close friend in the back. Misao shrugged her shoulders before climbing over the seat and then into it, able to do it easily with her good flexibility and thin body.

Kaoru backed up and drove down the old road smoothly, the road newly paved probably because there hadn't been one before Sojiro's family had bought the ancient looking house. She noticed it was made of deep brown wood nicely weathered, like her own, and there were numerous trees that surrounded it as if it was in it's own forest.

"You alright Misao? You're kinda quiet." Kaoru thought out loud after a few quiet minutes, which was a new record without either of the girls talking to each other if put in the same area with nothing else interrupting.

"Just thinking." She vaguely answered.

"About your _King of Ice_? Or should we switch it to King Eskimo..." Kaoru joked, but Misao was silent, not even saying a reply, which made Kaoru even more on edge.

"I was thinking of staying here and not going back to Tokyo." She finally answered as they were stopped at a red light in the only intersection in town.

"WHAT?! _Seriously_?! A _transfer_?!" Kaoru shrieked in happiness before going leaning over to hug her best friend, forgetting about how she was in a car for the second time today.

She was snapped out of it when she heard a light beep behind her and found that it was a green light. She quickly let go of Misao and stepped on the gas, peeling out into the intersection with a loud screech.

"Sorry!" She apologized as she tried to steady her jerking and looked back to look at the probably scared person following her and found that it was a wide eyed Kenshin and laughing Sano. She snorted as she looked how they were driving in a Porsche SUV and giving her quite a lot of space. She speed up and continued on her way, turning her eyes back to the road and her ears back to Misao.

"So are you gonna ask your parents? You are really only sixteen." Kaoru asked as she took a turn, slightly irked as Kenshin did the same thing.

"Yeah, I think they'll allow me cause they've heard me only bitching about TPA (Tokyo Preparatory Academy) even since you left. And my dad believes I should start branching out on my own to get ready for the real world since I'm sixteen and all." She said with a smile.

"Awesome! And, oddly, at this town they have great reception, so you can call your folks on your cellphone and drop the information whenever." Kaoru gushed as she finally turned into her driveway, practically choking as she saw Kenshin follow her.

She was _totally_ going to pound him when he came up her driveway. But she blinked in surprise when she saw him turn to the other house and park outside the garage that the black Ferrari had gone in to.

"Hi there Kaoru and Misao." Kenshin nervously called, remembering Misao's name from practice, and waved from about twenty feet away.

"What're you doing?!" Kaoru yelled back as she tightened her hands into fists.

"Well, it IS his house little Missy." Sano said lazily, before Kenshin could respond, as he walked to Kenshin's front doors and went inside.

"Yeah right." Kaoru snorted before she grabbed Misao's wrist and marched into her own house, leaving Kenshin to sigh by himself before following Sano into his house.

* * *

"I think Sano was telling the truth." Misao advised Kaoru as she was sprawled on Kaoru's bed in her pajamas, Kaoru in her closet changing right now.

When they'd gotten back they'd had a nice time at the hot springs. After they were done with their deep soak they'd returned and made dinner for themselves and Yahiko who seemed to not want much because he was mad at Kaoru. She had been so absorbed with Sojiro she'd forgotten to pick him up so he'd gotten a ride with one of his friends. But Kaoru had felt bad and so had promised to make it up to him somehow, which he only scoffed at.

"And _I_ think he's lying." Kaoru huffed.

"But think about it! I've seen him in that house twice now, and you've seen him around the property I bet!" Misao tried to convince, Kaoru's cheeks turning light pink as she remembered the reason why she insisted they wore bathing suits this evening.

"Fine, he might live there. I'll find out." Kaoru huffed as she emerged from her closet in a big shirt and short shorts.

"Lets just sleep, I'm so sore and tired. I need to get in better shape for the practices." She groaned as she rubbed her feet and shins that quite a few purple bruises could be easily seen on.

"And anyway, a greater Wednesday is in our future tomorrow." Misao giggled, knowing her plan would start to be set in motion tomorrow.

* * *

_Wednesday..._

"Bye Yahiko_-chan_!" Kaoru called from her jeep as Yahiko jumped out of the car and in front of the school. He turned around to yell back but found that his older sister was already gone. Since he was a freshman, the school made it convenient in that their classes were bunched in one building. But that building was on the other side of the school to where the parking lot and Kaoru's classes, so she always just dropped him off.

He lifted his hand and was about to flip her off, but saw a big white truck pull up in the area where his sister's car had just vacated and decided not to be killed by an overprotected parent not wanting their children to be 'tainted'. He watched with half interested eyes, wondering why he didn't just go to his homeroom already, as the passenger door was opened.

He blinked as he saw a thin girl with short silky brown hair that fell just above her shoulders jump out. His eyes widened as she glanced over his way before grabbing her backpack and shutting the door. He started to fidget as he saw her coming closer to him even though she was just heading up to the front doors. He'd recognized her when she'd look his way, how could he have not? It was the girl that Kaoru was punishing him greatly over because of that stupid prank he and his friend had done.

When she finally locked eyes with him again as she started walking to the doors of the school, after she'd waved goodbye to her father, she recognized his face and stopped dead, her light brown eyes becoming huge, making her look like a deer stuck in headlights.

Yahiko sighed before walking up to her, deeming that if he apologized at least maybe Kaoru would let up on him a little.

"Um…Hi. My name's Myojin Yahiko. And what I did to you a few days ago…um…well…" he broke off as he rubbed the back of his spiky head, not used to apologizing for anything. His eyes meet with hers again, finding she looked as if she was hanging on every one of his words. He sighed as he finally gave into her pleading face.

"I'm sorry." He finally stated with closed eyes and a slightly furrowed brow. He opened his deep brown eyes and found that her face was practically glowing with gratitude.

"I accept your apology Yahiko-chan." She said with a cute smile and tilt of her head, her silky straight hair swishing with the slight movement.

"It's Yahiko_-kun_!" He ordered with glowing eyes, making the girl lightly yelp but then giggle. There was silence for a few tense seconds before Yahiko broke it again.

"So, uh, what's your name?" He asked trying to sound as nonchalant as he could.

"Oh, how rude of me!" She gasped as she put a hand to her mouth. "My name is Tsubame." She said as her smile grew back on to her soft face.

Yahiko lightly nodded his head before looking at his watch and finding they only had three minutes before eight.

"Come on, lets go before we're late and I get detention." Yahiko said as he turned to the stairs that lead to their school, a smiling Tsubame on his side.

"What homeroom are you in?" Yahiko asked as he shoved his hands into his blue jeans, his eyes not on the young girl whom he asked the question, but to his old Nike shoes that slightly squeaked against the black and white tile of the hallways.

"Uh…number seven." Tsubame answered, not really used to talking so much, especially to a boy.

"Hey, same one too. But I haven't really seen you in it though." He stated as he turned his head and looked down at her, him being an inch or so taller then her.

"Oh, that's cause I usually sit in the front and you sit in the middle or back area." She revealed as she looked up at him, an ever-present smile on her face that made light dimples.

"Hm." Yahiko hummed, noticing they were still about a minute away from the room.

"Are you new around here? I haven't seen you at _all_ until a week or so ago." She asked as she looked around to find a few girls in her class leaning against their lockers and looking at the two of them with wide smirks, making her slouch her shoulders as if trying to hide away from the obvious attention.

"Yeah, moved from Tokyo cause of…uh…" He drifted off, a small throb in his chest as he remembered bad memories not so old.

"We moved cause of family stuff." He finally blurted, wondering why he was telling all of this to a girl he'd really just meet a few minutes ago.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to bring it up!" She apologized quickly with wide eyes, her face in shock again.

"No worries." He lightly laughed, his dark mood going away immediately, him being not one to dwell on negative points in his life. Tsubame lowered her eyes, knowing what he was feeling as she'd gone through family issues too.

"Well, come on, we only got a minute." Yahiko continued to say as they approached their desired door and opened it, snapping Tsubame out of her trance and making her smile come up again.

Yahiko growled as he was hit square in the cheek with a piece of spit-paper.

"Ha! Gotcha!" A boy with light gold-brown hair and stunning green eyes laughed from the fourth row as a straw hung from his mouth.

"Well, see ya." Yahiko said, holding down a growl as he rubbed off the wet piece of paper before stomping over to his friend.

"Bye." Tsubame whispered with a light blush as she too went to her own desk in the front row, square in the middle.

"Oh-ho! Some one's getting some _candy_." Yahiko hear his friend say while waggling his eyebrows as Yahiko sat down to his left, his friend having saved it for him.

"Shut up Yutaro." Yahiko growled out to his new best friend. Like Yahiko, he'd just moved here, but from Germany. He was still fluent in Japanese though because his father spoke it to him ever since he was a baby. He only lived with his father who'd become extremely wealthy from trading, his mother, who was german and the reason they had lived in Germany, passing away when he was very young. His hyper, prideful, and cocky attitude had immediately rivaled Yahiko's and they'd, oddly, become instant friends.

"Wasn't that the girl that we-" He was cut off as Yahiko clamped his hand over his mouth before removing it in a few seconds.

"Yes, that's her." Yahiko answered which only made Yutaro break out in a feral smirk that made him look very similar to a cat with his thin eyes and sharp cheek bones.

Yahiko was about to tell him to go do something very rude, but the teacher interrupted him as she started the lesson and he was forced to settle for a glare before turning back to the teacher, his eyes briefly wondering over to Tsubame, her light brown hair gleaming in the light.

He sighed as he heard he was going to be learning about mostly history today. He put his head in his hands, sarcastically thinking of how_ great_ his life was right now.

* * *

"Hi! My name is Misao and I'd like to sit in on classes today to see if I'd like to transfer." Misao chirped with glittering eyes at the office desk, Kaoru having gone off to her first class.

"Didn't you do that yesterday?" the woman asked as she recognized her face and name.

"Yes, but this time I'm going to be serious about it, evaluate the teaching methods and information taught. And I'd like to see the other new students schedules who transferred into the senior class this year for reference, if you don't mind." She said with an air of knowledge and authority that made the middle aged woman behind the desk smile at her strong personality. She typed a few things on her computer before the sound of something printing was heard.

"Three students so far have transferred this year into the senior class. Please go around the school today, free of charge. Just wear this around your neck." The woman instructed as she handed something that looked like something a VIP person would wear instead of a visiting student.

"Thank you very much!" Misao gushed before lightly bowing and turning away.

She closed the office door and stood outside, looking at the three schedules in her hands, an odd smirk growing on her face. She knew that the three new students were Kaoru, Sojiro, and her Aoshi. All she had to do was see which of the schedules was his, and then she could put herself in his classes to spend more time with him when she switched schools here.

She lightly laughed at her master plan before starting to go down the hallway, the slight clink of her elevated golden slippers and swoosh of her short, light yellow summer dress the only sounds.

* * *

Kaoru chewed on the top her mechanical pencil in thought as she looked at the white board and then back to her paper. She was currently in her first class, calculus, and because her brain didn't really officially start up until nine o'clock, she was having a harder time then normal understanding a problem.

"Need help?"

She turned to the person on her right who'd whispered the question to find Kenshin, wondering briefly how she didn't notice him before.

"Not from _you_." She snorted as she glared at him.

_"Fine_." He snapped back, fed up by her negative energy towards him. He glared back, his eyes flashing dangerously, making Kaoru blink in surprise and her glare dispatch as Kenshin turned back towards his own papers, leaving her with no more words.

She turned back to her own papers and her shoulders slumped as she realized she kinda _did_ deserve the cold shoulder, not being exactly the nicest person to Kenshin when he was mostly nice to her. She sighed before turning her eyes to his red head, his hand furiously scribbling on the paper in an even rhythm, seemingly having no problem at all with Kaoru's toughest subject.

"Kenshin?" She questioned quietly, making him stop his writing and focus his amethyst eyes to her for a second before beginning to scribble like a mad man again.

"Um…actually, I could use your help." She said with a small smile as if trying to convince him she was really a good person.

"Alright." Kenshin sighed as he stopped his work, a light smile on his own features.

* * *

_**A/N:** Well, thank you for reading and **Mele Kalikimaka** (Merry X-mas in Hawaiian) and as lame as it sounds, here's my holiday present to you all! Hope you all have a great holiday season in no matter what you celebrate!_


	8. Save Your Best

_**A/N: **Well, didn't I warn you about bad update schedules? I did, right...? Anywayz…after the epic Euro Cup finished (DAMN I can't believe Germany lost…cries) it made me think of HotSoccer!Kenshin while checking out the guys on the teams so…yeah. I finally came back to this little story. Sorry for the wait (I wonder if you thought I'd abandoned this story XD)_

_Oh, and I went back to all the pervious chapters and proof read them and gave the chapters titles. But you don't have to read back, I changed nothing in the overall storyline, only grammatical mistakes. Just wanted to inform you._

_I don't own RK, but I do finally own a copy of the last graphic novel 28 (squee) Is anyone other then me whose sad that it's over? But MY GOD! Kenji's sooo cute! (fangirl squeal)_

* * *

**Chapter 8 : Save Your Best**

* * *

_Friday…_

Kaoru sighed as she starred at the white board where a jumble of numbers, letters, and equations angrily starred back at her. She had already blocked out the monotonous voice of the teacher, as it only further confused her, and had tired to follow just with the steps, but it was an impossible feat. She failed at calculus, yet in her mind it felt like she failed at life. Dropping her head onto her single desk in defeat, she allowed a sigh to pass through her lips.

Kenshin, who was seated across of her again, glanced down to her as the movement had caught his eye. He heaved a sigh to himself, knowing this was the second class in a row she'd given up on, as he lifted his left hand. But he hesitated for a second, thinking of her anger, before shaking his head. Kenshin Himura was afraid of NO one.

So with a stiff index finger, he poked her in the shoulder.

She didn't respond at first, her body only slightly stiffening at the touch, before she groggily turned her slightly blood shot eyes towards the red head.

"Kaoru, you need to pay attention." He whispered with a cupped hand, not wanting the teacher to catch them talking.

"I can't do it…" She whined with sad eyes, Kenshin resisting the urge to roll his eyes at her self pity act.

"Yes you can." He reassured as he continued to copy the notes on the board.

Kaoru only did a little whine, like a puppy in distress, before she moved her face away from Kenshin back into her crossed arms.

He sighed as he realized her really had no other choice.

"You know…at this school if you get lower then a C in any class, you're not allowed to play sports games if you're on a team."

"What?!" Kaoru hissed as she jerked her head up with wide blue eyes. "Why didn't I know about this before?" She added with now narrowed her eyes.

"Because Coach just assumes that you'll get good grades. His standards are actually B or above or he won't let you play." Kenshin said as he looked away from her pretty face to the board again. He didn't really see the point of taking notes in class as he knew it all already but…there wasn't exactly anything else to do.

Kaoru stayed silent as she turned her head back towards the board, only blinking. Kenshin was about to extend a hand to wave in her face to wake her up for the second time that afternoon, but just as he was, she turned to him with a wild look and desperation in her eyes.

"You need to help me."

"And why would I do that?" Kenshin replied right back. He was actually a kind of person to usually help in any way he could, but he thought that he'd make her sweat a little. He felt recently he'd been in the hot seat constantly and it was slightly satisfying to now see Kaoru in it.

Kaoru bit her lip in thought, trying to think of a valid point. She sighed in defeat again as she realized she couldn't do much for a near stranger who she had butted heads with quite a few times.

"I don't know…" She said just as the bell rang, making her jump in her desk, wincing as her knees hit the underside of the plastic wood.

Kenshin shrugged his shoulders as he started to pack up, still not agreeing to tutor her.

"Wait, you've seriously got to help me." Kaoru repeated as she grabbed the sleeve of his collared shirt.

"Again. _Why_?"

Kaoru looked around her in a panic, thoughts still not coming to her. She couldn't cook, he was a better student then her (she already could tell in a week with four classes together), and she didn't know him well enough to pull something out of memory. And it's not like she could say she'd go on a date or something!

"I'll…teach you that trick." She finally spat out as she stood up and followed him out of the room, both of them having science next. She remembered it was the only thing that she'd seen fool the red head during all their practices. Ever since then she really hadn't been able to defeat him in one-on-one.

Kenshin raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"The one that you did on your first day?"

"Yeah, the one I used to juke you out and get a goal." She confirmed with a proud smile.

"Fine. In exchange for my tutoring until you start getting a passing grade, you'll teach me your move." He stated as he held out his hand for her to shake.

"You got it." She said as she spat on her palm before shaking his.

"I still can't believe you're a girl sometimes…" Kenshin said as he retracted his palm to rub against his shorts. Kaoru shrugged as she refused to blush. She had spit in her palm out of habit with how she had done it with Yahiko since he'd been five.

But that thought was overridden with happiness in the fact that she had solved that sudden problem before it really bit her in the butt…even if she had to give up her most valuable trump card in soccer.

"So what grade did you get on the last test two days ago?" Kenshin asked as they continued to walk down the hallway together, only a few more doors to the lab room where they were to meet today. They had the next class, AP Biology, together too.

"Uh…fourty seven?" She answered as she slumped her shoulders, refusing to meet his gaze. It wasn't _entirely_ her fault…surely it was that teacher. And the fact that she'd hadn't been in the classes before.

Kenshin stopped in the doorframe as Kaoru continued on into the open room, dumb-stricken for a moment.

"Damn…we got some way to go, don't we?"

* * *

"Alright, BRING IT IN!" Hiko boomed out, making the baseball team, which mind you was on the other side of the school, wince.

"Damn…that was a hard practice." Kaoru panted as she jogged in, resisting the urge to sit down. She could only thank the spirit in the sky that it was _Friday_.

"What're you talking about Missy?" Sano laughed as he clapped her on the back, "This is only medium in difficulty level. Just wait." He said, Kaoru shivering at the bad feeling of trepidation. She knew that the boys practices would be more physically draining then the girls, but…

"I have yet another announcement dealing with the team." Hiko's stern voice quickly snapped Kaoru out of her thoughts.

"Hello, hello!" Misao said as she sprung up from behind the at least three foot taller man, making a few from the team, including Kaoru, jump in surprise. They hadn't even noticed that she had been hiding behind him.

"Misao…?" Kaoru asked as she inched forward, giving her best friend an eyebrow wiggle that clearly asked what the hell she was doing. But Misao only winked her way before clasping her hands behind her back and taking a deep breath in before speaking.

"I, from here today on, will be your new Manager."

At the sudden declaration, Kaoru almost allowed her knees to crumble underneath her. But her ice blue eyes suddenly widened in understanding as she saw Misao's gaze linger a bit too long on Aoshi as she looked around the circle of boys to look at their reactions.

Kaoru put a hand to her mouth to hold down a giggle. That sly little weasel.

"But…isn't Hiko our Manager cause it comes with the coaching job?" Sano asked as he towered above Kaoru from behind.

"Hm? I was? I sure as hell didn't _do_ anything…" Hiko drifted off as he was more intent on checking all the balls to see if they were still inflated to the right pressure.

"Yeah, remember last year when we had to pay for our own airline tickets because we didn't do any fundraising? Or how we only got new balls this year because we'd torn and popped the others? We've even used the same uniforms all these years because Coach just hasn't bothered to ask for more." Kenshin offered up from the left side of the circle, causing Kaoru to look his way.

"Misao is great! She was the manager of our baseball team back at our old school and because of her great skills we got everything we needed to win the championship." Sojiro said in glee as he slung an arm around her shoulder to give her a friendly shake. He had been the third base on the team and still remembered the high of winning, although it wasn't as satisfying as the high of winning in soccer.

"Well…I guess…" The boys all said in their own way, thinking of the possibilities that were now open.

"And this way, less work for me." Hiko said as he finished, throwing the last ball in one of the two bag sacks that were now full.

"Didn't you just say you didn't do anything?" Kaoru asked without thinking with a cock of her head. But as the tall, broad shouldered man suddenly walked up to her, she felt like she should have cut her mouth off.

"He had to reserve out tickets for the flight to Tokyo for the nationals. That's it." Kenshin said through the thick air of tension as Hiko glared down at her.

"Thank you Kenshin." Hiko sighed as he turned away from Kaoru, making her exhale a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"Now, you're all dismissed." He said with a wave of one of his large hands.

Kaoru sighed in relief as she sat down to start unlacing her cleats.

"Kamiya."

At the sound of her last name, she snapped her head up to squeak at a towering Hiko.

"W-What is it Coach?" She asked as she stood and straightened, arms stiff on her sides.

"You know…I was just kidding about earlier. I don't mind if you question me." He said with a straight face and voice, yet Kaoru couldn't help but sense a tinge of sarcasm.

"Really?" She asked in hope. Maybe she could ask to let up a little on the practices.

"No." Hiko harshly snapped out just as her hopeful question finished with a slight elevation of volume from before, causing Kaoru to slightly wince.

"Now go run five laps as punishment." He said as he turned away to leave. He knew that she would do all the running and not skip even if he wasn't there. He knew that she was that kind of good kid.

Kaoru sighed as she started with legs of lead.

"Ah…someone should have warned her about back questioning Coach." Sano sighed as he looked at Kaoru's lean body that had just turned the first corner.

"You don't question this Coach too?" Sojiro said with his constant smile as he stripped off his long red socks, starting on his velcro straps on his shin guards. Back at his and Kaoru's old school, you didn't question the boy's coach but the girl's coach was pretty fair about listening to her players.

"Course! I remember one time I said we should practice penalty kicks (PK) more and I had to run an extra mile for a whole week." Sano said with a sigh.

"That's only cause you _yelled_ it in his _face_ because you were angry on how we lost the game from someone missing a PK." Kenshin said as he stood in front of the other two before squirting some water into his wide-open mouth.

"Yeah…" Sano sighed as he took off his sweaty red headband.

"And because Hiko just plain hates you." Kenshin added in with a smirk and elbow to Sano's ribs as he sat down next to his best friend on the worn bench.

"Yeah…" Sano repeated as he lifted his head to laugh. "It comes with being a mooch."

Kenshin looked up from his friend to look at Kaoru as she passed by with her head held high, although he could tell her legs were lagging.

"Oh well, I'm gonna head back then." Sojiro said as he got up, wiggling his bare toes in the soft grass. He sometimes wished he could play without shoes as it'd make him run even faster.

"I'll come with. I want you to tell me how you managed to pull off that scissor trick at such a high speed during scrimmage." Sano said as he stood himself, not taking off his shoes but favoring to take off his shirt as it was soaked in sweat and he didn't like how it clung to his back.

"You coming Kenshin?" Sano continued to talk as he looked down at the redhead.

Kenshin looked down at his mud caked shoes to Kaoru who was still running and then back up to Sano.

"Yeah." He said easily as he got up. He wanted Kaoru to start teaching him that trick today, but he knew that she must be tired from practice, especially since she had to run extra, and really didn't want to further bother her.

Anyway, there was always tomorrow. Especially since it was the weekend.

* * *

_Saturday…_

Kaoru woke to the sound of scratching. She grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it over her pretty head as to try and block it out. When that didn't work, she threw her blanket over herself and went into the fetal position.

Yet that accursed noise wouldn't leave her alone.

Finally giving up, she threw her pillow and blanket off of her thin body in a huff and jumped out of her bed.

"_WHAT_?!" She screeched as she opened her room door violently. But as she saw with blinking eyes that no one stood there, she quietly closed it. If someone wasn't at her door making the noise…where was it coming from?

But then she heard it yet again.

Turning around to look around her room, fists up, she found nothing seemed to be moving. But when she looked at her window, she found that something long and metal, like unwound closet hangers tied together, was scratching against her window.

She followed the long strip of metal to find that the one who held it to be Kenshin.

With her head tilted in curiosity, she walked over to her window and opened it, feeling the soft country wind caress her face.

"Kenshin…?" She asked across the fairly small distance.

"Finally I got your attention. I've been doing this for almost ten minutes straight." He called out back, retracting the long metal stick.

"What do you want? It's Saturday morning and I was sleeping in." Kaoru called back, too drowsy to think of how unorthodox this all was.

"Well…I though that I'd help you with your calculus and then you can show me that trick." Kenshin said with a shrug.

"It's Saturday morning…" Kaoru repeated as she leaned her elbows down the window seal to hold her head, her long black hair fanning from her back to frame her thin face.

"It's 10:30, that hardly counts as the morning still. And anyway, you should be happy that we don't have a game or practice." Kenshin informed with a light shrug.

"Fine. I don't really have much else to do." Kaoru said as she stood up to start putting her hair up.

"See you over in a few minutes?" Kenshin asked as he stood up himself too, Kaoru glad he was far enough not to see her light blush as he noticed he was shirtless.

"Yeah." Kaoru said as she walked into her closet to quickly change into a pair of shorts and a lose t-shirt without really looking if it matched or not.

Grabbing her phone and pocketing it, she went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth (to get rid of her morning breath) before jumping down the stairs in a few leaps. She glanced around and noticed that Yahiko wasn't around, but noticed with a groan that he'd left a note on the fridge that said in almost illegible that he was meeting up with his friends…_yet again_. But when she didn't see Misao around, she raised an eyebrow.

But when she opened the door and saw that her beat up jeep was gone, she grabbed her long hair in exasperation. But she closed her eyes and took deep breaths as to stop herself from freaking out. She trusted Misao and Kaoru was sure that it was only to search for the nearest cafe to solve her bad coffee addiction. Maybe that was why she was so short…

"I swear…" She sighed as shook her head one last time to get ride of any worrisome thoughts as she took the first step towards Kenshin's house. It took less time to walk to his house then it did to brush her teeth. She stopped at their own double doors that were much more refined and kept up then hers, making her stare in awe at how beautiful they could really be.

Finally stretching out a slightly hesitant hand, she grabbed one of the golden rings that were being held by a dragon's head, more specifically it's teeth, to knock against the rich wood.

There was silence before footsteps could be heard from behind the door. She raised an eyebrow as they seemed heavy and stiff, not the way that she thought Kenshin would walk. She had though he'd seem more light and graceful.

But as the door opened and she starred blankly at a wide chest before looking up to see the face of her soccer coach, she felt her face pale.

"C-Coach?" She stuttered as she took a step back in confusion.

"I told you that you didn't need to get the door Hiko." Kenshin said as he peaked his vibrant head under Hiko's arm that held the shiny knob.

"W-Wha…?" Kaoru asked as she lifted a finger to point at Hiko's stiff figure. But remembering yesterday afternoon, she threw her pointing hand back down.

"He's my Father." Kenshin said as if he was talking about the weather.

"Well, I'm gonna go get ready for my brunch meeting." Hiko said as he turned away from the two teenagers.

"And nice to know that you're starting to bring _girls_, and not _just guys_, home. I thought that…well…you know." Hiko left it hanging as he climbed the stairs to change out of his sleeping kimono, knowing that the couple at the door would catch his meaning.

Kenshin could only glance at Kaoru for a second before he looked away, as to hide his slight pink that stained his cheeks. Why did he have such an _idiot_ father?!

"So…um…" Kaoru started, a blush like Kenshin's on her own face. But her weak attempt to start a conversation was interrupted as her stomach gave a wild growl in retaliation for still not having breakfast.

"Do you want something to eat?" Kenshin asked, jumping at the chance to start any kind of conversation to get ride of this silence.

"Yeah, that'd be great if you have something. I sped over here that I didn't have time to grab something…" Kaoru drifted off as she managed to make eye contact with his stunning violet eyes again.

"Glad to help." He said with a small smile as he started towards the kitchen, motioning for her to come.

"What do you want?" He asked as he opened his refrigerator to gaze in and then at the black haired beaut who was still at the door frame.

"Come on, sit down. You know that Hiko was only kidding. He's completely different off the field so you don't really have to worry." Kenshin said as he motioned with his hand to the round table with four chairs.

"Ah…I wish that I could have a rice omelet…" Kaoru dreamed as she sat down, remembering how that used to be her favorite dish when she was little.

"Coming right up." Kenshin said as he took out some eggs and other ingredients from the refrigerator before kicking it closed.

"But…" Kaoru started as he cracked his first egg into a bowl. She didn't want to intrude.

"Ah…fine." Kaoru sighed in defeat as she watched the read headed youth prepare the breakfast dish. She watched with interested, and slightly envious, eyes as he made the slightly complicated dish, especially the flip, with ease. He finished by cutting it in half and dribbling it with some sauce.

"So…Hiko's really your _Dad_?" Kaoru asked as he slid her a plate with the steaming hot dish, giving her a fork a napkin too. He put his own half of the omelet and a glass of milk down by the chair aside of her and went back to the fridge.

"Yeah, but not biological. Milk or orange juice?"

"Uh…both." Kaoru said as he mind went blank at the simple statement. He was adopted like Yahiko?

Kenshin was quiet as he took out two glasses from the dishwasher, still not going further into his recent statement.

"Yeah, you don't really look the same…at ALL. And he picks on you the most in practice so…I never really expected it." Kaoru said as she blew on the still steaming omelet.

"Yeah, he adopted me when I was seven. I don't really remember much of my past life, only up till when he found me and took me into his wealthy life."

"Oh…" Kaoru drifted off as she finally took her first bite, knowing that she was starting go into personal matters.

"My God…" She said in awe as she took another bite with vigor, "This is DELICIOUS!" She exclaimed as closed her eyes in happiness, savoring the taste on her tongue.

"It's not that hard to make." Kenshin laughed as he placed her drinks next to her.

"You don't understand…you've made it just like my-" She stopped her sentence as her eyes widened. She glanced over at the now sitting red head, who only blinked, before she stuffed her mouth with the warm breakfast so that she didn't have to finish her sentence.

Kenshin only looked away from her now stained face, not hinting for her to continue.

"So…after we finish breakfast we'll start on the accused math?" Kenshin asked as he started to eat his own omelet. He saw with relief as her face relaxed and she started eating at a more normal pace and not just stuffing food into her mouth so that she couldn't talk.

He knew that she didn't want to talk about thingsu just like he didn't. He knew that there were some places that you had to draw the line at and he wasn't in the position to push that line just yet.

But Kenshin liked to think in the back of his mind, as he watched her eyes lit up with another bit, that maybe one day she'd trust him enough to tell him.

* * *

"So…what're we doing here again?" Yahiko droned out as he walked the street with Yutaro, hands jammed into his lose short pockets.

"We're just chillin' I guess. See if we can't shake things up a little." Yutaro said with a thin smile like smirk that only caused Yahiko to roll his eyes.

"I really don't see how your father can deal with you." Yahiko said, remembering his kind faced middle aged man who he had meet this morning. He was surprised, to say the least, when Yutaro had come up his driveway this morning and had invited him to his house and then to town. Yahiko had accepted, of course, and was now just walking around the small shop scene.

"Well, I don't see how your sister can deal with you. Someone as pretty as her shouldn't have to deal with such stress." Yutaro said as he turned his head away from Yahiko so he couldn't see his slightly blush. The blond youth had only seen her a few times, but that was enough for his young heart to already have a crush on her.

"Urgh…don't you mean my _ugly_ sister?" Yahiko corrected as something caught his eye in a nearby shop. The spiky haired boy stopped as he looked at the large red sign with white letters that read 'Help Wanted.'

"What shop is this?" Yahiko asked as he jammed a finger in the direction of the still closed shop, even though it was close to eleven now. Yahiko briefly wondered if Kaoru had woken up or not. He knew that she could sleep till twelve if not interrupted and she was also pretty much as dead as a rock when sleeping.

"Ah, that's the Akabeko. It actually has really good food." Yutaro said as absently he chewed on a fingernail.

"Hm…well, I do kinda need a job." Yahiko said as he tried to peak through the curtains behind the glass windows that held the shop from view.

"Why? I can lend you money." Yutaro said with a slight frown. He had finally just gotten a friend and he wasn't keen on letting him drown himself in unnecessary work.

"Nah. I'm just so used to working that I feel bad if I don't have a job is all. And I've worked at a restraunt before and it's actually pretty fun sometimes. You get a bunch of free food and depending on the place, really good tips."

"Still sounds lame." Yutaro snorted as he scuffed his skate shoe.

"Well, I do need the pocket money anyway. I've been craving some new manga." Yahiko said as he looked at the hours, and then to his watch, to find it'd open in a few minutes

"Didn't I just say I'd lend you money?"

"But I'd have to eventually pay you back, right?" Yahiko answered Yutaro's question with a question, causing the blond haired boy to roll his eyes. Yahiko had that knack to always pull the strings in his favor.

"Well, I don't want a job so I'll see you later." Yutaro called over his shoulder as he started to walk away with slunched shoulders.

"You're coming back in an hour to pick me up, right?" Yahiko called back, causing Yutaro to turn around in surprise.

"Uh…sure." Yutaro said with blinking eyes.

"Ok, good, cause I need a ride back home."

Yutaro's eyes narrowed in understanding. He had thought that maybe…

"And also I wanna talk to you about a prank." Yahiko said in a lower voice with a smirk and wiggling eyebrows.

"No kidding?" Yutaro asked with a smirk of his own, "I had just though of one this morning too."

"So, see you in an hour?" Yahiko asked to confirm.

"Yeah, yeah, you workaholic." Yutaro said with a wave as he walked away with a smirk.

Yahiko sighed as he leaned against a nearby lamp post and smiled lightly as he felt the soft wind go through his dark hair. Although he'd never admit it out loud, he had been uneasy about this move and if he'd be able to fit into this new place and school. He had been fairly popular, more then Kaoru, at their last school and he had been slightly worried that with this move he wouldn't be able to find new friends. But when he'd meet Yutaro, he had felt most of that insecurity go away. It was awesome to have another person to goof off with.

"This move wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." He said out loud as lifted his head up to stare up at the blue sky.

But his zoning was interrupted as he heard a sudden swish. Bringing his vision from a flying bird back to the shop, he found that one of the curtains had been pulled back by none other then Tsubame.

He almost choked on his spit as he watched her do it with the other half, a content smile on her cute face. Yahiko suddenly fidgeted as he watched her walk towards the sign that said 'Closed' to flip it to 'Open'. Did he didn't really need this job…right?

But her large brown eyes suddenly caught sight of him as she went to the other side of the small restaurant to bring away both those curtains. She seemed to freeze for a second before hesitantly waving. Yahiko blinked before lifting his hand in recognition.

With a small skip, she pulled away the other curtains before going to the door, opening it with a slight chime from the bell attached on the top.

"What're you doing here Yahiko-ch-kun?" She asked, correcting herself at the last second, as she took a few smaller steps towards the slightly taller teenager.

"Ah…I was just…thinking about getting a job here." He blurted out the total truth, not being able to think of a lie that wasn't totally absurd or lame.

"Really? That would be _fantastic_! Our little shop is getting so crowded that it's hard for me to keep up since I'm the only waitress." She said with a cute tilt of her head, her silky brown hair brushing against her small shoulders.

"Yeah…" Yahiko drifted off as he found himself lost in her big brown eyes.

"Well…do you want to come in so I can show you around? So you can see if you really want to work here or not?" Tsubame continued as she turned around to head back towards the door.

"Sure." Yahiko said with a small smile of uncertainty as he followed. He wondered for a brief second if he should have just taken up Yutaro's offer to lend him money.

* * *

_**A/N:** Well, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed the read and, as you probably already know, PLEASE REVIEW!_

_PS: I got the rice omelet dish scene from_ Meru Puri_ that is an adorable 4 volume series (four leaf clover proposal ring equals LOVE!)_


	9. How's It Going to Be

_**A/N**: You know the drill. I write, but don't own. Please enjoy :B_

* * *

**Chapter 9 : How's It Going to Be**

* * *

"I get it now…" Kenshin started before he did the trick.

"Glad to know that it's _overly simple_ for such a _genius_ like you." Kaoru spat out, half joking and half serious, as she looked at the red head. He'd just finished his one hour tutor period and she was having a slight headache. While she had trouble with some of the problems, Kenshin flew through them like they were second grade additional problems. She had to admit, he was a really good teacher and made her actually understand it, but it was still a lot to swallow.

"I don't mean it's not hard to do…" Kenshin tried to explain as he did it once more with quick feet and a small smile, not noticing Kaoru's slightly down aura.

"It's just that you have to remember to pick up your toes when you flip your foot to brush the ball just right. Once you get that, the other parts of the move fit right in." Kenshin said as he dribbled the ball over her and went to her left while using the maneuver yet again.

"What do you call it anyway?" Kenshin asked as Kaoru turned around with crossed arms.

"You know…I never really thought of naming it." Kaoru said as she put a finger to her lips in thought.

"How about…the Kaoru trick…aru?" He hesitantly asked with a shrug, not being able to think of anything.

"Please." Kaoru said with a snort as she went up to him and brought the ball back to her. She wasn't wearing any shoes, just as Kenshin, yet she kinda liked the feel of the cool grass in between her toes.

"Then…the Kamiya Contrivance?"

"No." Kaoru said as she did toe taps on the ball with fast feet.

There was silence as Kenshin watched Kaoru with half interested eyes, still trying to think of a name that wouldn't sound lame.

"Hey, wanna play one on one?" Kaoru asked, her competitive spirit starting to flare up to overpower her mental stress.

"Uh…we don't really have a goal." Kenshin said as he in hope that he could sway her to do something else. He really wasn't exactly in the mood.

"We can just use two trees." Kaoru said as she jogged over to the tip of his large green lawn to look for one that would have the right space in between. She knew that the space was six lunges since she had fairly small legs.

"Kaoru…" Kenshin drifted off as he could only watch her try and find the right trees.

"Come on, it'll be fun. These trees are good." Kaoru said as she pointed with each arm to a few young saplings that were just a little thicker then actual goal posts.

"And the height? How do we know if it would go over?" Kenshin asked as he approached with his hands in his pockets, his t-shirt ruffling in the wind.

"We'll just…have that branch." Kaoru said as she pointed to the part of the tree that was about three feet above her head.

"Lets start." Kaoru said as she passed Kenshin with the ball.

"So I have to play defense _and_ goalie?" Kenshin asked as he took his hands out of his lose shorts, brushing a few long hairs from is handsome face.

"Yeah. And once I get a goal, or you steal the ball, we'll automatically switch." Kaoru said with a small smile, fire now alight in her eyes.

"Alright. Bring it." Kenshin said with a motion of his hands and a smirk.

* * *

"Vendi…cinnamon dolce latte…without wipe cream…"

The clerk behind the café bar blinked at Misao's tired face before typing in the amount into the cash register and then pulling out a cup, scratching a few letters for her order before handing it to the drink person behind her.

"That'll be four fifty seven." The clerk lady said causing Misao to gasp.

"That much?!" Misao said a little too loudly, causing the other people who were waiting for their own drinks to turn to her petite form.

The clerk blinked at Misao, not saying anything in return.

"Fine." Misao sighed in defeat as she dug in her tight jean pockets for any more cash, only thinking it was three dollars like back in Tokyo. She deemed it must be more because of bringing all the ingredients out to this town that was kind of in the middle of nowhere.

Eyes lighting up in happiness as she pulled out a crumpled five dollar bill, she handed it over to the still passive clerk while pocketing the three one dollar bills back in. She easily dropped the return change into the tip jar, not wanting to have it in her pockets as she knew she would forget about the coins to later hear them clinking in the washer or dryer.

She went over to the small area where her drink would come out, trying to hold down her slight jittering in anticipation but found that she couldn't. It seemed like the two and a half minutes it took to get her drink together felt like her entire sixteen year old life.

As her drink was finally called out, she jumped up to grab it before they'd even said the entire title. Rushing over to a comfy couch in front of the blazing fire in the small shop, Misao sighed as she took off her slippers and wiggled her toes in front of the fire. It wasn't very cold at all, but it was still nice to feel the warm tickle from the flames.

Taking off the cap to her latte, she allowed the delicious smelling steam caress her face. Just as she was about to take her first sip from the heavenly liquid, something caught her eye.

She noticed with wide eyes that there were another pair of legs next to her, and long, defiantly male ones with the type of jeans at that. She had sat down without looking and so hadn't even bothered to see if there was someone on the other side. Blinking a few times, forgetting about her drink for a second, she followed up from the legs to the chest and then to the face. She nearly dropped her more precious then gold drink in surprise as she saw the handsome face.

"Good morning Misao." Aoshi said without any emotion as he flipped the page in his book, taking a sip from his own cup of coffee.

"A-A-Aoshi-s-sama?" Misao stuttered, still not to take a sip from her latte.

"Sama?" he asked with the slightest raise of an eyebrow, still not taking his stunning blue eyes from his book.

Misao couldn't answer, only blush deeply, as she finally took a sip of the searing drink, causing her to hold down a violent cough. She had forgotten about the first rule of drinking hot coffee…don't drink it in large gulps.

The pair was silent as Misao put down her cup, putting the cap back on, before starting to twiddle with her thumbs. It was slightly awkward for her as she sat next to her crush who she hadn't even said a word to before, but she still didn't want to leave.

She finally snuck another glance over to Aoshi who still seemed to be engrossed in his book, the only movement of his body being his eyes going back and forth as he read the individual lines.

"Romeo and Juliet…?" Misao asked as she noticed the title of one of Shakespeare's most famous works out loud without really thinking.

At her soft voice, Aoshi turned his piercing eyes from the text to her curious face.

"It's been assigned in my English class. Aren't you in it too?" Aoshi asked as he remembered seeing her on Thursday and then again Friday.

"Oh…I didn't realize we had homework." Misao admitted as she rubbed the back of her small neck in embarrassment. She wasn't embarrassed with the fact that she'd failed to miss the assignment, but at how she had missed it because she'd been starring at Aoshi during both of the class periods.

"We have to read the entire thing this weekend." Aoshi continued as his eyes moved back towards the book.

"_Really..._? I don't even own one…" Misao said in defeat as she held her head in her hands in exasperation. Her day really wasn't going that great. It had taken her just over an hour to actually find this coffee house this morning so that she could have her daily coffee that she had been almost dieing in withdrawal from since Kaoru didn't have a coffee maker machine at the house yet. And NOW she had to go and try to find a bookstore to search for the old romance novel.

"You can borrow mine if you want." Aoshi said as he closed the book and held it out for her.

"B-But…don't you need to read it?" Misao asked as she held down the urge to grab the book and start worshiping it since he owned it.

"I've already read it once for school a few years anyway and I always remember what I read." Aoshi informed as he still held the book out for her to grasp.

Hesitantly, she took the slightly worn book from his large hands.

"But now you won't have anything to read…"

Aoshi answered that without words by pulling out another book from his bag on his side that Misao wasn't sitting at.

"I knew I'd finish that one fast so I brought another." He said as he pulled out another book, this time Misao having no idea what it was about.

"Oh…ok." She whispered as she opened her lent book to the first page to begin.

Maybe this day wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

Sano sighed as he turned off the engine in his huge red truck, having just driven up Kenshin's driveway and put the hunk of metal in park. He allowed his head to fall down on the top of the steering wheel in utter exhaustion. He had just finished his seventh job of delivering equipment from the hardware store and his back was feeling like it was going to give if he lifted another thing, no matter how light.

The spiky haired teenager knew that most people would go to their own house to relax, but with Sano having seven other siblings, even though two were already away at college, he wasn't too keen on going back there just yet.

So with one more sigh, he grabbed the DVD he'd rented from the movie store in town a few minutes ago, and jumped out from his elevated car. Slamming the door shut and pocketing his keys, he walked up to the large double doors to knock.

"Yo, Kenshin! It's me!" He called. Not the very patient kind, he only waited a minute before he began to bang on the doors, first with the golden knocker Kaoru had used this morning, and then again with his fists. Only waiting thirty seconds this time, he twisted the knob to find it was open.

With a shrug, he opened the door and peaked his head in. Not seeing anyone nearby, he sauntered to the kitchen to find it empty. Continuing on to the living room, where Kenshin's huge HD TV was, he threw down the DVD on the couch before continuing on around the house.

He knew that Hiko wasn't always around, but he had expected Kenshin to be here since he had said he had plans at home today. Jumping up the stairs with a slight wince as it tweaked his back, he threw open Kenshin's door to find the room empty.

Glancing towards the window to find it wide open, he raised an eyebrow as he heard a sudden yelp from outside. Poking his upper half out the window, he craned his head around in search for the person who the sudden voice belonged to, pretty sure it was a girl.

He heard another human exclamation, this time a curse, and turned away as he knew it had come from the back yard. This time taking the stairs slow, he opened the door to the back porch to find two bodies running around in the lawn.

"Kenshin!" He called as he saw the red head dribble the ball away from Kaoru.

"Sano?" Kenshin asked as he saw his friend.

"Gotcha!" Kaoru said with a smirk as she took advantage of Kenshin being distracted to stick her foot out, in a very illegal soccer regulation, that caused Kenshin to trip and fall on his attractive face.

"Hah!" Kaoru said in victory as she shot the ball between the trees for her goal.

"So now it's 32-14 with me leading." Kenshin informed, causing Sano to burst out laughing.

"Damn, he got you there Missy!" Sano said as his laughter subsided.

"Yeah, yeah, lets see you try it." Kaoru said as she ran to retrieve the ball in the forest while Kenshin jogged over to his best friend.

"What's up Sano?" Kenshin said with a light pant.

"Ah, nothing much. Just wanted to unwind at your place since I just finished all my deliveries." Sano said as he scratched his head.

"You're not too sore are you?" Kenshin asked with slight worry. He remembered a few years back when Sano had just started the job he'd been overly enthusiastic and had thrown out his back when he'd gone on his twelfth haul in a row. Needless to say, he had to stop soccer for a week before Hiko even let him back on the field.

"Ah, my back's just a little twisted." The lanky teenager said as he threw a hand over his shoulder to try and massage the used musceles.

"What's up Sano?" Kaoru panted as she came up with the ball, kicking it up to land in her hands.

"Ah, just wanted to crash at Kenshin's place." Sano easily said as he turned back towards the back door, the other two following.

"Oh yeah, did you work on my house today?" Kaoru asked in hope. She really wanted to get the shower up, since the pipes were still alright for the most part, so that she could bath in private and not in the hot springs or locker-room where she always felt rushed.

"Urgh…" Sano groaned as they went into the living room where he thew himself, face down, on the comfy couch.

"I just finished lifting two fridges, three washers, two _dish_ washers, four stoves, and a dryer." Sano said in one breath.

"Wow…I don't think I could do even _one_." Kaoru admitted as she sat down on a nearby chair.

Sano only grunted in recognition before he moved his head to look at her.

"So why're you here?" He finally asked, wondering it the second he saw her in the back yard.

"I am his neighbor you know." Kaoru snapped.

"Yeah, but you guys seemed more like enemies then friends." Sano informed as he brought his arms up from his sides to cross in his front, using it as a pillow for his head.

"I guess you're right…but we made a deal where Kenshin's gonna tutor me in Calculus until I get a passing grade and in exchange I taught him my special trick." Kaoru said, holding down a sigh at giving away her newest soccer trick that she'd been extremely proud of.

"Will you teach me it?" Sano asked in hope as he sprung up, only to wince and go back down as his back throbbed in protest.

"No…but I could give you a massage." Kaoru said in thought.

"No, it's ok. Really." Sano said as he treid to stretch his back but only winced.

"Come on Sano, you don't seem like the kind of person to turn down something like this. Especially since it's free." Kaoru said, hitting a bulls-eye with his personality.

"Fine."

"Alright, now move to the floor so that I can actually reach your back." Kaoru said as she stood up, pointing to the carpeted wooded floor.

Without another word, Sano got up from the couch to move to the floor. Kaoru followed and sat down at his left side.

"Just to warn you, I haven't really given one of these in a few months but I'm really good. Or that's what everyone has said." Kaoru said as she cracked her knuckles in preperation.

"Are you sure yo-OH GOD!" Sano's calm question suddenly turned into one of exclamation as he felt her hands start to attack his back.

"Oh my god…" His voice suddenly turned calm as he felt her touch actually start to relax his stiff and slightly inflamed musceles.

"Kaoru…that feels so good." Sano said, not remembering the last time he'd gotten a massage.

"Didn't I tell you I was a good at this?" Kaoru laughed.

"Guys…?" Kenshin asked from the door frame, hearing their voices but not seeing them.

"What is it Kenshin?" Kaoru asked as she straightened, Kenshin now being able to see that she was on the floor.

"Why are you interrupting us idiot?" Sano called from the floor, slightly irritated that Kaoru ahd stopped her healing touch.

"What're you…doing…?" Kenshin asked with wide eyes, taking this situation all wrong as he couldn't see them and had heard Sano's breathless words.

"I'm giving him a massage." Kaoru said with a smile as she leaned back over Sano again.

"Ah yes…don't stop." He gasped out as Kenshin finally walked over, peaking his head over the couch.

"I totally thought you guys were doing something else." Kenshin sighed in relief as he jumped over the couch with his can of orange soda.

"What would that be?" kaoru asked with a raised eyebrow, looking up from her hands to a relaxed Kenshin.

"You didn't think…" Sano drifted off as he moved his head to look at the red head who had a light blush on.

"Don't you DARE Sano." Kenshin growled as he started to crush his canned drink in hand.

"What're you guys talking about?" Kaoru interrupted, clear confusion laced into her words and pretty face.

Kenshin only continued to glare at Sano who finally snorted and looked away. The shorter of the two guys smiled in solace as he realized Sano wasn't going to spill.

"Kaoru, _pleeease_, whatever you do, don't _stooooop_." Sano moaned out in a girly way, holding down a laugh as he turned to Kenshin who had almost dropped his drink in shock, his eyebrows high on his forehead in shock.

"Alright, that's enough." Kaoru said as she got up with a slight blush of her own.

"So you brought a movie?" Kenshin interrupted the slightly tense silence as he noticed the out of place DVD, glad he'd found something to change the subject.

"Yeah, you wanna watch?" Sano asked as he jumped up from the floor, feeling rejuvenated all over again.

"Sure, why not? It's already four anyway." Kenshin said as he glanced at his expensive imported watch.

"Ah, then I'll just be going home then." Kaoru said as she got up, "So I'll see you guys later. And don't worry about working on the house tomorrow if you're still sore Sano. Don't want it to affect your soccer, yeah?" She continued with a wave as she made her way to the front door.

"Dude, go ask her if she wants to watch the movie with us." Sano said as he sat down next to Kenshin and elbowed him in the ribs.

"But she's been here since ten thirty today anyway." Kenshin hissed right back.

"_So_? Just go _ask_!" Sano said as elbowed the red head again.

"No!" Kenshin rejected again.

"HEY KAORU! WHEN YOU WERE GIVING ME A MASSAGE KENSHIN THOUGHT WE WERE MAKING OU-"

"Shut up!" Kenshin interrupted as he slapped a hand over Sano's too big mouth.

"Did you say something Sano?" Kaoru asked from the door, Kenshin thanking whatever spirit in the sky that she hadn't heard what Sano had been yelling.

"Just…uh…WAIT!" Kenshin yelled back as he punched Sano in the arm, hard, before getting up to run to the door.

Kaoru blinked her blue eyes as she saw Kenshin reappear from the living room with a slight flush on his tanned face.

"It's just…uh…do you wanna watch the movie with us?" Kenshin asked as his bare toes twitched on the polished wood.

"Um…" She drifted off as she looked over to notice that Misao had yet to come back and she hadn't heard Yahiko come back either.

"Sure, why not?" She asked as she took off her slippers that she'd just put on a few seconds ago. Just like any other person, she would rather be with someone rather then be alone.

"A-Awesome." Kenshin stuttered as he smiled back.

"KENSHIN! I can't find the popcorn!" They heard Sano holler from the kitchen causing the other two to sigh before following him to help him out.

So quickly the trio got ready for the feature length film that was just under two hours.

"That was pretty good." Kaoru chirped as the credits started rolling.

"I saw the ending coming." Kenshin added in as he leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, you could totally tell who the enemy was right from the beginning." Sano said his own opinion as he lifted his head from the couch.

"Well…I should really get going." Kaoru started as she got up and stretched her arms as high as they would go.

"Ah…alright then." Kenshin said as he watched her head towards the front door again.

"Well, later." Kaoru said with a wave as she disappeared from the two teenage boy's views.

"Bye." Sano and Kenshin said at the same time.

"Why don't you go walk her home?" Sano asked as he picked a piece of a popcorn kernel from his teeth.

"She lives fifty feet away." Kenshin said with a blank face.

"Just go Romeo!" Sano cried out with a girly sigh as he pretended to faint on the couch. Sano felt a nagging in the back of his head at the name, like he was suppose to do something about it but...oh well.

"Just promise me you'll never do that again." Kenshin said as he went after her for the second time that day, holding down a laugh at Sano's odd girl voice.

"Ah, Kaoru. I'll walk you…home?" Kenshine asked, finally realizing how lame it sounded. Damn that Sano.

"Isn't that…kinda unnecessary?" Kaoru asked as she jammed a thumb in the direction of her house, noting that Misao was finally back with her jeep.

"Ah…I guess." Kenshin said with a laugh, knowing what he'd said to Sano was right.

"Well…later." Kaoru said with a small wave as she jumped down the few steps before jogging over to her own house.

There was silence as Kaoru silently walked the fifty or so feet to her own front door.

"Hey...Kenshin?" She called over the short distance, her figure still barely visible.

"Yeah?" Kenshin asked, stopping from going back into his house. Didn't she just say goodbye to him?

"Ah..." Kaoru started, glad that he couldn't see her blush, "I'm coming over tomorrow, right?"

Kenshin was silent as his eyes widened before he could respond with a simple, "Why?"

"I still don't get all the problems and you know that there's a test next Friday. With practice on the weekdays..."

"Right, right. Then...sure. I guess." Kenshin said with a shrug.

"Thanks...well...night." Kaoru said with a breath of relaxed laughter as she gave a final wave before dissapearing into her house.

"Whoa..." Kenshin said to himself as he closed his door, staring down at his bare feet that were still dirty from playing in the back yard with Kaoru. He never knew that the raven haired girl could act so vulnerable and that her laughter could sound so pure.

"YOU'RE THE _MAN_ KENSHIN!"

Kenshin only sighed as Sano gave him an animated grin and two thumbs up.

* * *

_**A/N:** Not much to say...except it was really late and I was deprived of sleep when I wrote the last scene...maybe that's why it's so weird DX Hope it at least made you smile (if not at my stupidity) PLEASE REVIEW!_


	10. Spinning

_**A/N**: Wow, been forever since I updated and I'm really sorry for that. Also, I can't believe we're in the double didgits now :O Amazing! Getting on with it, I don't own RK_

* * *

**Chapter 10 : Spinning**

* * *

_Sunday..._

Kaoru yawned as she woke up in the morning, allowing her hands to go above her head as she arched her back, hearing it (with a satisfied smile) pop a few times. But this moment of hazy half-asleep heaven was interrupted as a sudden sound came from her window, causing her to yelp and then fall back into her covers, thankful for not falling off her bed entirely in the surprise.

Now grumbling, she went to investigate the sound to find that something had been stuck to her window. Opening it, she reached her arm to unstick the toy arrow taht had a sucker instead of a pointed edge. Definantly something a five year old would have. But as she turned it, she noticed there was writing on it that said '_Wake up, time for math.' _

Groaning, she lifted her head so see a bright blotch of red in the opposite window and grimaced as she saw a waving Kenshin, happily smiling. Oh, how Kaoru hated morning people since she wasn't one herself.

But she didn't have much time to think about this as she saw in his hand a toy gun, which he fired for a second time and she just barely missed the sucker missile as it soared above her head.

"Hey!" She snapped across to him with a growl, hands tightly balled in fists at her sides in irritation.

"Hurry up." Kenshin simply called back as he turned away with gun in hand.

Narrowing her eyes, Kaoru huffed as she went to her closet, throwing on a pair of jean shorts and old shirt before gliding down the stairs, thankful again for not falling. Turning to the noise from the TV she saw Yahiko there with a bowl of cereal as he happily munched along.

"Finally, the monster has come out of her cave." He snickered as she walked past him, Yahiko being able to hear her footsteps on the wooden floor.

"Har, har. You're hilarious." Kaoru only snorted as she continued on to the front door before opening it and going out into the sunlight. As she looked at the driveway, she noticed that her jeep was once again gone, the raven haired teen assuming that Misao had once again hijacked it for her daily coffee run.

Shrugging, she continued on through the short distance to Kenshin's front door and just as she was about to knock, the large door flung open to reveal a still slightly grinning Kenshin.

"You're too happy." Kaoru growled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're just not a morning person." He easily retorted as he turned towards the kitchen.

Not thinking of anything else to say back, as it was the blatant truth, Kaoru only scoffed before changing the subject to, "What did you shoot at me this morning?"

"Oh that?" Kenshin asked innocently as he brought out a pan, "That was Sano's _deadly weapon_, as he likes to call it. Want breakfast?"

Kaoru's annoyed face bloomed into one of laughing.

* * *

_Monday..._

Yahiko sighed after he stuck his tongue out at his sister in annoyance as she drove away to park at the other side of the campus. It was weird in how the school was divided in grades, he being a freshman was far away from his senior sister. The only time he really got to see her was during lunch when all the four grades congregated in one giant mob. In actuallity though, he was glad for this. He already had to see her practically every second at home, so he didn't exactly want it at school too.

But leaving those mostly irrelevant thoughts aside, he turned to walk into the school only to be stopped as he saw a big red truck roar in, a petite Tsubame jumped out from the passenger before being thrown her backpack as she giggled at whatever the driver had told her.

Yahiko seemed to be frozen as he noticed her allseeing big brown eyes fall on him, causing her smile to grow the slightest bit more if he wasn't seeing things.

Offering a wavering smile back, that was all she needed as motivation to skip towards him, her hair that she'd styled in pigtails today brushing her shoulders.

"So, I talked to Tae-san, the manager, about giving you the job." She continued to grin as she started walking with him up towards the hallways, so engrossed with Yahiko that she didn't notice a few snickering girls as they passed by the outside locker area.

"What did she say?" Yahiko swallowed, wondering why he was torn for the right answer of being accepted of not.

"He said yes, and that you can start after school today if you want. You'll work Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If you want to do other days, you'll get paid too, even extra on the weekend." Tsubame chirped just as they saw their homeroom come in sight.

"Cool." The spiky haired teen managed to say in shock, thinking of how it was much easier to get a job here then in the city, no resume needed and no need to ask your age. One of the few perks of living here, he guessed.

"So see you after school? You can ride with me...that is, if you want to." Tsubame asked through a dark curtain of lashes as she looked up at him just as they were about to enter the door.

"Yeah." He agreed before he went in, only to be hit by one of Yutaro's famous spit balls.

"Happy day." Yahiko added to himself as he growled and started stalking to his blond best friend, not noticing how Tsubame had started giggling as she went to her own front row desk.

* * *

"I get this!" Kaoru squealed in happiness as she clasped her hands together to hide her wide smile on her face.

"Of course, I'm an awesome teacher. You'll get a B or better if you keep coming to me for help." Kenshin laughed under his breath as he continued with his notes.

"Hey, you've never taken notes before." Kaoru noted as she craned her neck to look at his neat numbers.

"Well your skrippling is inelegable, probably even for you, so i thought one of us needs to take notes that you can understand and actually learn from them."

Kaoru brought her head back to her own paper while muttering a 'smart-ass' comment with a stain of chagrin pink across her cheeks, so intent on trying to clean up her notes that she didn't notice as Kenshin laughed under his breath.

* * *

"Hold up man." Sano yanked Kenshin by the collar of his t-shirt before dragging him to the back of the line in practice, at this moment they were doing ladders.

"What?" Kenshin asked in slight annoyance, having been first in line only to be replaced.

"Just wondering how Sunday went for you, I was so busy with sleeping and doing homework so I don't fail classes and I can still play and I forgot to ask in class..."

Kenshin took a step up in the line before saying, "Kaoru came over again for tutoring and we did that for a few hours. Then we went into the backyard and we played for a little, I taught her a trick or two. After that...she went home and I did my English essay." He ended it with a shrug of his boney shoulders.

"Sounds _nice_." Sano said, Kenshin knowing he wasn't talking about the essay, as he elbowed the shorter of the two in the ribs.

"Yeah, it's kinda weird talking to a girl because I haven't since..." But Kenshin drifted off before he finished, shaking his head before giving a smile.

"I know man." Sano sighed, yet Kenshin didn't hear it as it was his turn for the hard footwork line.

Practice commended as usual, but as everyone ran in, Kaoru felt like her lungs were more on fire then usual.

"Is it me...or is practice...getting harder?" She managed to get out through pants. But the other boys just raised an eyebrow and shrugged, lightly panting themselves.

"It's probably your body not being able to adjust to so much work, telling you to stop." Kenshin explained as he was suddenly at her side, surprisingly not breathless like her at all.

"If you're trying to make me quit, try again." She stated as she straightened and flashed a grin to Kenshin, to which he shrugged off again.

"And Mondays are really pure conditioning." Sano said with a sympathetic smile, remembering how his freshman year he'd aching all over. Sure, Kaoru had played before and was really good, but a boys soccer team was entirely different.

"Alright team, now I have an important announcement. We've been invited to host a scrimmage against a team from some nearby islands. The team is only moderate, not a very important one, but it'll be a good chance to shake off that rust since last year's season. And especially since the season is coming closer and closer, we'll need all the preperation we can get." Hiko ended, pointedly glancing over at Misao who took over.

"Now, they'll be arriving on Wednessday and our game will be Thurday afternoon, and we'll be trying to publisize it in school to get everyone pumped for the upcoming season. We don't want any last minute requritments, just support because when a game's tight that's what can sometimes pull a team through." She explained in a cheery voice, ending it with a smile.

"And where will they be staying?" Sano asked as he stuck his pinkie in his ear, making Kaoru blanch.

"I was actually going to ask Kaoru." Misao sent her best friend a glimmering smile that made Kaoru how groan. Of course, with her now huge house it'd be practically like a hotel.

"Sure, but I don't have any beds and there's only the hotsprings." Kaoru reminded, hoping that this would discourage the decision.

"Oh, they don't mind. As long as they have a roof over their head. They've actually slept on the beaches back home quite a few times too, so they've gone through worse."

"And how do you know all this?" Kaoru wasn't going to let this go too soon.

"Cause I already told them that, talked to them. That's what managers do." She chirped.

"And I'm sure you've already said that they're staying there, haven't you?"

"...ahehe..." Misao drifted off as her smile wavered a little. Kaoru knew her too well.

"Fine. Whatever. But I'm not cooking for them, they're gonna get instant ramen." The raven haired teen sighed.

"Good, I don't want them to get poisoned." Misao said without thinking, throwing a hand over her mouth a second later as her already big eyes widened.

Kaoru, so tired from practice, could only weakly growl in bluff.

* * *

Yahiko gulped, ran a hair through his gravity-defying hair, before getting up from his seat on the locker bench, slinging his bag over his shoulder in one fluid motion.

"Hey, wanna come over?" Yutaro asked as he was getting up too, having just finished yanking off his dirty shoes from cross-country, the sport both he and Yahiko were in for this trimester.

"Sorry man, gotta go work." Yahiko awkwardly laughed, but only suceeded in making Yutaro's eyebrows furrow.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Well, guess there's nothing I can do about that. See you tomorrow." The blond offered a wave over his shoulder before he was gone in a flash, leaving a slightly desolate Yahiko behind.

Groaning, he started walking out too, thinking about all the video games he'd just given up on along with any food he wanted since Yutaro had a private chef. Yet those thoughts were run off course as he saw a hand waving in front of his face, making him stop in a startle.

"Zoning out?" Tsubame asked him with a shy smile.

"Yeah." Yahiko forced a laugh again to cover his embarrassment.

"My brothers do that a lot too, I think I'm the only one who hasn't inheritated it in my family." She continued to gush, making Yahiko feel a little more comfortable as he nodded in agreement.

"So speaking of my brothers, one of them is going to pick us up today. And don't let him bully you, he's like a big dog. Looks frightening at first, but is really just a puppy at heart."

The teen didn't have much time to dwindle on this because the same big red truck that had dropped Tsubame off this morning came barreling back. As Yahiko finally got a good look at the truck, his eyes widened in recognition. So when he opened the passenger door and saw the older teen's face, he wasn't so surprised he couldn't say,

"Hey Sano." Through a croocked smile.

"This is the new worker ya were talking about?" Sano asked Tsubame with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, since you don't seem to work at all." She shot back as she sqeazed closer to her brother, motioning with her arm for Yahiko to jump up too. He succeeded, glad that he had enough bounce to get up since it was very high and he didn't like to admit it, but he was a little below the average in height.

"Hope you've been treating my sister nice. If you're anything like _your_ sister, you might be a little bipolar in anger and happiness." Sano commented as he turned on his blinker to get out of the now jam packed parking lot with freshman parents that were very wary of both Sano's giant, almost monster, truck and his insane driving habits.

"I couldn't agree more, and I take pride in being different from her." Yahiko snorted in amusement that he wasn't the only person who thought she had a personality problem.

"I bet she's much nicer then you guys make her out to be." Tsubame pouted as she crossed her thin arms, making her rub shoulders with Yahiko in the process.

"You haven't met her yet." Yahiko laughed back, glad he had the excuse of just having run six miles in cross-country to use as a ready cover for having slightly painted cheeks.

* * *

_Wednesday..._

"So, are you ready to welcome the new arrivals?" Misao gushed as she hopped next to Kaoru down the halls after class, the taller teen heading towards her locker and then to practice.

"Why are you so happy? I thought you only had eyes for your precious _Iceberg_." Kaoru snorted as she threw in her Enviormental Science book to grab her Calculus one. She held down a groan as she thought of all the problems she'd have to do tonight.

"That's why I AM happy, I got to sit next to him in English." She leaned up to whisper in Kaoru's ear, to which she only hummed at. "PLUS there was a pair assignment so we had to put our desks close together, it was fanTASTIC!" She squealed the last two syllables, causing Kaoru's eyes to widen at the high frequency poured directly into her ear.

"Well good for you." Kaoru noted as she rubbed her ear to try and get the ringing to subside.

"How's things with Cinnamon?" Misao asked, using their nickname for Kenshin.

"Eh, I'm not trying to kill him if that's what you mean. I really feel bad about being so hostile to him now, he's a nice guy."

"Go on..." Misao encouraged with a hidden laugh.

"Well, he's really helped me out in math and so I think I'll be soon passing and so I'll be able to play soccer. He also taught be a few tricks, very generous. _Plus_ he's an awesome cook." Kaoru grinned widely.

"FanTASTIC." Misao repeated as she allowed her laugh to finally surface from her glossed lips.

* * *

"So...that's them over there?" Sano asked as looked across the field to the group of mystery boys as he sat down next to Kenshin on their own side of the grass, both of them strapping on their shin guards.

"I guess. I haven't really meet them before either you know." The red head answered as he finished with his left shin guard, continuing by unrolling his long golden socks from last year.

"Those guys DO have some intense tans and bleached hair though...I wish the ocean was closer to us." Sano sighed.

"It's only three hours." Kenshin snorted as he put on his first sock.

"For them I bet they literally do LIVE on it like Misao said yesterday. I bet they get to surf everyday..._God_! I'm SO jealous!" The lanky teen continued to rant as if he hadn't heart his best friend at all, making Kenshin chuckle as he put on his other sock.

"Well if that's the case, they maybe they won't be so good at soccer and we can beat them easy." Kenshin joked as he slipped on his specially cleated shoes for soccer.

"Getting cocky are we?"

At the feminine voice, both Sano and Kenshin looked over their shoulder to find Kaoru behind them with hands on her thin hips, ready for practice.

"No, just being hopeful." Kenshin smiled as he started tightening his laces.

"Hn. I haven't played a game in a while. I'm almost nervous." Kaoru said as she sat crouched down next to Sano, not wanting to get her long black shorts dirty on the ground.

"You should be, this isn't a _girl's_ game." Sano said as he got up, clapping a hand to her back before going off to talk to the other members of the team.

"What's he talking about? Soccer is soccer." Kaoru questioned over to Kenshin who got up himself, dusting off his similar black shorts of dust.

"Well, girls are...let's just say they follow the rules more."

"And boys don't?" She continued to ask with now crossed arms.

"Only when the ref is watching." He grinned devilishly before he was off, leaving Kaoru to blink at where he once stood before she turned around to follow him where everyone was already congregating around Hiko.

"Now, we will be using only half of the field today so that the other team can use it too." He explained with an impassive face as usual.

Kaoru only shrugged this away, not having much time to think about how they'd be sharing the field before Kenshin barked at the team to line up and start the laps, Kaoru sighing as she took her place of dead last, knowing to now show respect in her spot on the team since the first day when she'd sprinted ahead and tried to overtake Kenshin.

As she rounded the first corner of the side where the islanders were starting to stretch and get ready, her eyes widened as she took in how tall and built they were, her wondering if she weighed at least half of any one of them. One in particular, who she could only guess was six three, saw her quick stare and gave her a glittering smile. Looking away with a light blush, not used to such open fliration, Kaoru continued on with running.

Practice continued on without any other events, although Kaoru began to feel bitter to the newcommers because, since they'd taken up half the field, Hiko had decided that they wouldn't do their usual practices and would rather do more conditioning and then straight shooting, something that Kaoru found boring in practice when they could be doing something all together.

Yet as always, practice came to an end, it being a short hour because Hiko wanted everyone to keep their strength for tomorrow.

As everyone was dissmissed, Kaoru sighed as she stripped off her muddly shoes, socks, and then shin guards, allowing her toes to flex a few times in their rejuvinated freedom. Sighing in relief, Kaoru lied back on her back and looked up to see some grey clouds in the sky. Looked like it was going to rain yet again, like it did practically every other night around here. She liked it, not only because of the clean smell but because it made everything green and lush.

"So, ready Kaoru?" Misao asked as she oddly looked down at her sprawled best friend.

"For what?" She questioned in a drawn-out tone as she got up.

"To welcome our guests." She giggled as she extended an arm to the group of fourteen boys who had started to walk from their side of the field to theirs.

Suddenly feeling the prickle of hairs on her neck, Kaoru had to force a smile as she waved the boys over to her and Misao, finding with a sigh of relief that Hiko had come to stand behind them to welcome them also. It was nice to have a giant on her side. She was also surprised as she saw Kenshin and Sano appear on the either side of her and Misao, thinking as an afterthought of how they were acting as bodyguards.

"Yo, yo." The one who had smiled at Kaoru greeted first as he raised a hand, that same glittering smile plastered on his tanned face.

"Welcome to Meiji. I'm the manager Misao, this is Coach Hiko, and these are players Kaoru, Kenshin, and Sano. It's very nice to meet you." Misao rushed to introduce everyone with a smile.

"You're a player?" Another tall player blinked as he pointed at Kaoru.

"Yes." Kaoru said as she lifted her head, wishing that she was taller so that they wouldn't have to look down at her to such a degree.

"Anyway," Misao interrupted, "You all will be staying at Kaoru's house tonight and tomorrow night after the game too."

"Sounds good. Before I forget, my name's Izanagi and I'm the captain, our coach is coming tomorrow if you're wonderin. Everyone else here is..." His rich voice continued on to name the other thirteen boys on the team.

"Hey, where do we shower? I stink." One of them, Kaoru already forgot his name, said as he took his shirt off right there to smell his armpit, making both Misao and Kaoru gag and Sano to hold down a laugh at their reactions. Obviously since these boys had lived their entire lives by the beach, they were perfectly content to be constantly half naked.

"You can take it in the lockers here or wait till you get to my house, there's hot springs in a little behind my house." Kaoru managed to find her voice and put on her smile again.

"Sounds nice." Izanagi said as he rubbed his chin with enlightened blue eyes, "How about it boys? Wait for the hot-springs, yeah?"

"Ya-Ha!" They answered in chorus, and Kaoru couldn't help but giggle as it reminded her of her overenthusiastic brother.

* * *

After Kaoru drove up her driveway and put her jeep in park, she got out and turned around to see that the van that carried all the visiting team had followed her along the entire way successfully.

"Why are they here again?" Yahiko drawled as he got out himself, Misao popping out from the passenger side.

"Because there isn't a hotel around here and it's only right to offer the people you're playing a place to stay. It's morals Yahiko, I thought I taught you some during your lifetime." Kaoru snorted.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna go eat and then I'm going out." He shrugged off, glad that he had already taken a shower in the locker room so that he wouldn't have to go to the hot-springs with fourteen complete strangers who were all older, bigger and so stronger, than him. He was also almost glad that he had work tonight.

"We-HO!" Izanagi whistled as he got out of the van first, being the driver himself.

"Nice place ya got here." He continued to say as the others agreed in their own way.

"Thanks, I just moved here. The hot-springs are just a little behind my backyard, you should see a path. Once you're done, come on in and I'll have dinner ready."

"What a nice little girlie you are!" The first boy who ran walked past her said, making Kaoru roll her eyes as she went into the house.

Deciding to take a shower later, she changed into some simple shorts and t-shirt before bounding down the stairs. Just as she started opening the cabinet doors to see how much ramen she had left, her phone that she'd pocketed started to vibrate and ring.

Looking at it, her eyebrows lightly furrowed as she didn't recognize the number. But she still flipped it over and answered with a, "Hello?"

"Kaoru?" The voice on the other side questioned.

"Yes...this is her. Whose this?" She questioned herself hesitantly.

"Kenshin. Mind if I come over to help you cook?"

Kaoru 's eyebrows furrowed as she said, "But they're only going to get ramen."

"I thought I'd help you cook something for them. I think they deserve more then instant food for their long travel, don't you think?" He asked.

Kaoru sighed, knowing that she needed to become more hospitable, "Alright, sure. That'd be great."

"Ok, be over in a minute. Literally."

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver." She ended herself but a sudden thought made her say, "And where did you get this number?"

"Huh? Misao." He answered truthfully before saying bye, Kaoru grimacing as she should have known it was her best friend's doing who was currently in her room doing homework.

True to his word, Kenshin arrived a minute later with arms full of ingredients for many dishes.

"You know...I'm not very good at cooking. That's why I made a point of saying I wouldn't do it for them." Kaoru admitted as she watched him take out a knife to cut up some vegetables.

"I already knew that." He answered with a small smile.

"How?"

"Yahiko." He answered with her brother's name, making Kaoru curse under her breath. Of course it'd been that little snitch who was lying not too far away on the couch, lazily flipping through the ten channels as he slurped ramen.

"Hey, finish cutting these vegetables up for me?" Kenshin broke her from her murdering thoughts.

"Ah...you sure? You're not scared I'm going to stab you accidentally...?" Kaoru was wary as he offered the knife to her.

"Come on, I know you're not _that_ bad."

"It's you funeral." She said with a smile that Kenshin returned easily.

It wasn't long before the boys finished their baths and came through the front door again, their sun highlighted hair now weighted down with water. As they smelled the delicious aroma of cooking, the immideatly went to the kitchen and living room area, finding in glee many ready dishes and even more coming out from Kenshin and Kaoru who were absently chatting and cooking at the same time in the kitchen.

With vigor, the boys all grabbed plates and chopsticks before sitting along the long wooden table and whole-heartedly digging in just as Yahiko got up to leave for work, glad that he didn't have to stay yet again so he wouldn't get showered in food since they were all fairly messy eaters.

"Whew, that was good." The boys said together as they patted their full bellies after scraping clean every dish. So much for leftovers, Kaoru thought at the sight.

"Glad you liked it." Kaoru beamed at the compliment, overly proud in how she'd made, ok _helped_, with making something not only edible, but tasted _good_.

"So...what're you doing here again? Don't you have a house of your own?" One of the boys, Mitsuru if Kaoru was correct, asked to Kenshin.

"Me? I was just helped Kaoru here with making dinner. It's hard to do by yourself when you have so many to cook for." Kenshin easily laughed off the slight hostility behind the boy's words. "And anyway, I live close by." He understated.

"So are you guys, what, going out?" Another asked with a smirk.

At the breezy statement, Kaoru went beet red. Having never gone out with anyone, and her only guy friend being Sojiro, she wasn't used to joking questions like this. Kenshin, on the other hand, simply blinked before laughing again.

"No, no. We're just friends." He gave the truthful explination as he got up to put his plate in the sink and then start doing the dishes.

"I'm gonna go help him." Kaoru managed to smile again as she collected the boy's plates around her and hurried to the kitchen, and so missing the snickering around the table of teens.

They started the chore in silence, the sloshing of water being the only sound yet it did nothing to penetrate the slightly heavy air around the teammates.

"Those guys really have big mouths, don't they?" Kenshin joked as they started washing the dishes, him washing while Kaoru dried.

"Yeah. In both talking and eating." She extended the joke, "Thanks a lot for helping me cook. I don't think they'd take too kindly to be 'poisoned' as Misao put it so nicely."

At that, Kenshin lightly laughed and that awkward air dissipated.

Finishing the dishes quickly, since the other boys came to help after a few more minutes, Kenshin waved goodbye before walking towards his house. Kaoru then turned to the fourteen visitors and directed them each to their rooms, only a few having to pair up since there was a total of fifteen room, and with Yahiko, Kaoru, and Misao each taking up a room, that left twelve empty places.

"Goodnight." Kaoru called to the last person who she had to show a room, sighing in relief as she trudged up to her room were she opened it and threw herself down on her bed. But when she landed on something not exactly soft like she'd expected, she yelped and rolled over.

"Sorry Kaoru." Misao apologized as she appeared from under the blankets.

"Misao?! What're you doing? Shouldn't you be in YOUR room?" Kaoru lightly growled as she rubbed her soar tailbone that she'd just landed on.

"In a house full of boys, I'm kinda scared actually."

"They're not going to jump you in the night." Kaoru sighed with a small smile. Countless times during the time they'd known each other Misao had run to Kaoru for safety, dispite the fact that she was a full fledged ninja and probably had more skill in bringing down someone or dealing with something more then Kaoru. But the older girl didn't mind the least, actually enjoyed it since Yahiko was so independent that he barely ever relied on her. It was a nice feeling to be needed.

"Still, there was one just a wall away from me and a boy whose _name_ I don't even know_. __Please Kaoru_?" She clasped her small hands in front of her as if she was praying to God himself.

"Fine, fine." Kaoru sighed and added, "And you call yourself a ninja."

"Hey! Even with all my skills, I'm a heavy sleeper."

"I thought you all were light sleepers?"

"...We're suppose to be." Misao blushed in chagrin.

Kaoru quietly laughed at her friend, knowing that this was probably the only thing she lacked in the ancient arts that had been passed down in her family for generations.

"Okay, big day tomorrow. Need to go to bed now." Kaoru informed as she felt sleep tug at her eyes again.

"What about you Calculus homework?" Misao asked as she tilted her head.

"Dang it."

"And what about taking a bath?" Misao reminded too, the short teen having done her own when they were all eating.

"Well, I guess I'll just fail Calculus and stink up the bed. Maybe that will discourage you from sleeping with me all the time!" Kaoru announced before pouncing on an unexpecting Misao who squealed and tried to get out of the way, but found it too late as Kaoru landed on her.

"You're heavy."

* * *

_**A/N**: I made an RK OC?! :le gasp: actually it's a whole group, but they'll only last till next chapter anyway XD Hope you liked, reviews are nice although I don't blame you if you don't in retaliation for me not updating in forever D:_


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